Rackauckas Deputies Back His Rival in District Attorney Race

The race for district attorney intensified this week as a group of attorneys voted not to endorse their own boss, who is seeking reelection.

Lawyers in the Orange County district attorney’s office disclosed Tuesday that they endorse veteran prosecutor Wally Wade for district attorney.

By declining to support incumbent Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas, the Assn. of Orange County Deputy District Attorneys gave Wade his most significant endorsement in the campaign.

The move also marked the first time the association has declined to endorse an incumbent district attorney.

“These are the deputies protecting the public in the courtroom, and they’re saying something is wrong and we need to change the way we’re doing business,” Wade said.

Rackauckas declined to comment, but a campaign spokesman said the endorsement does not reflect badly on the district attorney.

“Tony Rackauckas is a tough boss, and there are people inside his office who resent that and who spend a lot of time on internal office politics,” said Rackauckas campaign spokesman Dave Gilliard.

“Office politics don’t matter to voters. What matters to voters is how safe they feel in their homes.”

The association allows only dues-paying members to vote, meaning about two-thirds of the roughly 250 Orange County prosecutors can cast ballots. Details of their vote were not released.

The lawyers’ support of Wade follows months of controversy in the office. In some of the most highly publicized episodes, Rackauckas ordered deputies to withdraw a consumer protection lawsuit against developer George Argyros, who contributed to the district attorney’s campaign, and fired a veteran prosecutor who questioned his leadership.

Rackauckas later withdrew from the Argyros case and the state attorney general eventually reached a settlement. Mike Jacobs, the fired prosecutor, is suing Rackauckas.

Wade said the endorsement is a sign that prosecutors were offended by the controversy.

“The most important thing to the deputies in our office is integrity. That’s why they’ve chosen to endorse me,” Wade said.

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Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in some editions of The Times on Wednesday.