Wade and Farber Make Unlikely Campaign Team

Talk about strange bedfellows.

For much of 1997, political consultant and former Democratic congressional candidate Mike Farber watched as the district attorney’s office pursued a criminal investigation against his political ally and landlord, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, accused by defeated Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) of registering noncitizens to vote.

No charges were filed against the immigrant-rights group, and now Farber’s political consulting business has picked up a new client: Assistant Dist. Atty. Wallace J. Wade, the man in charge of the investigation.

Wade is running against Superior Court Judge Anthony Rackauckas Jr. to replace Dist. Atty. Mike Capizzi, who is running for attorney general.

Wade said Thursday that he hired Farber’s company, the Gutenberg Group, to prepare and distribute his political mail for the race.

He said a law school classmate introduced him to Farber about two months ago.

Farber said he didn’t know until recently that Wade headed the Hermandad investigation. He said he agreed to work for Wade because it is a nonpartisan seat, and he was impressed by Wade’s integrity.

“It really isn’t that weird that we’re working together,” Farber said. “Life continues.”

Last year, Farber and Hermandad Executive Director Nativo Lopez fought congressional subpoenas to testify about the 1996 election won by Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove). Farber operated a voter-participation drive with Lopez and donated $5,000 to his successful race for the Santa Ana Unified School District board. Farber made a notation that the money was to be used to “GOTV [get out the vote] for Loretta Sanchez.”

The House ruled last year that noncitizens who Hermandad had registered had voted illegally, but not in large enough numbers to change the outcome of the race, which Sanchez won by 984 votes. The Orange County Grand Jury declined to issue indictments after a yearlong investigation.

Democratic activist Mike Kaspar, who works with Farber, said there were some awkward moments about taking on Wade as a client, not only because of the Hermandad investigation, but because Wade is a conservative Republican.

“I’m not going to kid you,” Kaspar said. “We had some internal discussions about it.”