Prosecutors Endorse Rackauckas for D.A.

Choosing to support a county judge over one of their own bosses in the race for district attorney, the association that represents a majority of Orange County prosecutors announced Tuesday its endorsement of Anthony J. Rackauckas Jr. over Assistant Dist. Atty. Wallace J. Wade.

Wade, a top lieutenant of Dist. Atty. Mike Capizzi, who is campaigning for attorney general, said he was “surprised” that he didn’t get the endorsement by the group, which includes 125 of the 230 deputy district attorneys in his office.

But members of the group said they made their decision because of long-standing dissatisfaction with Capizzi and his management.

Rackauckas, a Superior Court judge since 1993 and on the Municipal Court bench before then, was a deputy district attorney for 16 years before Capizzi came to power.

“When [Rackauckas] was in the office, it was a different era, where deputies were trusted more, where they were given much more opportunity to use their judgment in dealing with cases,” said Dan McNerney, a senior deputy district attorney.

“A lot of deputies have expressed a sentiment that that has fallen by the wayside in recent years, and they want it back.”

Wade, though an office insider, circulated a critical memo to deputy district attorneys last fall promising a new management style. He said that despite the endorsement of his opponent, he believes he enjoys substantial support among the deputies.

By Jan. 31, Wade had raised $16,020 and lent his campaign another $20,000. Rackauckas had raised $155,262 from a list of contributors that included dozens of judges, defense attorneys and deputy district attorneys.