In D.A. Race, It’s About Pulling No Punches to Beat Your Boss

Prosecutors must be made of sterner stuff than the rest of us. How else to explain a profession in which underlings are so willing to take on their bosses--like running for election against them.

Steely as I am, it wouldn’t cross my mind to announce I wanted my boss’ job and then start ripping her in public. Of course, why would I? The woman is brilliant, I tell you, simply brilliant.

Wally Wade, on the other hand, doesn’t think his boss is brilliant. To the contrary, he thinks his boss’ tenure has been marked by “failed leadership” and “political cronyism.”

In this corner, Deputy Dist. Atty. Wally Wade.

In the other, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas.

The election is three months away, and Wade has a daunting task: to make up more than 80,000 votes from Rackauckas-Wade I in 1998, and convince voters that Rackauckas should be a one-termer.

Orange County doesn’t have much of a history in ousting incumbent district attorneys. Absent some sort of scandal, it’s hard to imagine how Wade could do it.

The man has a plan, though. Interestingly, Rackauckas unwittingly put Wade in position to pull it off.

Wade’s campaign strategy is to portray Rackauckas as someone who plays politics and personal loyalties at the expense of justice.

As the campaign heats up, Wade likely will draw much attention to Rackauckas’ handling of the investigation of George Argyros, longtime Republican benefactor and new U.S. ambassador to Spain.

This year, after investigators and attorneys in the consumer fraud division named Argyros and his apartment management company in a massive fraud case, Rackauckas took the unusual 11th-hour step of removing Argyros’ name from the formal complaint.

There wasn’t any outcry from attorneys in the Orange County office about Rackauckas’ actions, amid suggestions that people feared retaliation if they aired their grievances.

Eventually, the case was transferred to the state attorney general, who settled the case with the company for $1.5 million, but didn’t divulge details. Nor did the office specifically cite Argyros.

Here’s the irony: When Rackauckas took over in 1999, he reassigned some deputies loyal to former Dist. Atty. Mike Capizzi. One of them was Wade, whom Rackauckas put in charge of, guess what, the consumer fraud division.

Hmm, I wonder if Wade has any juicy details from the Argyros case.

It may be his best chance to win. Historically, Orange County elections for district attorney produce more yawns than anything else. Rackauckas, for example, is only the third district attorney in the last 35 years.

Let’s face it, the average citizen is hard-pressed to get a handle on any district attorney’s performance. It takes a high-profile issue--like the Rampart case in Los Angeles or an O.J. murder trial--to focus attention on the race.

Wade hopes the Argyros case and a handful of other squabbles both inside and outside the office will do the trick.

Can Wade pull it off? Jack Earley, a veteran Orange County defense attorney and on the board of governors of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, is dubious.

A Rackauckas supporter, Earley says he isn’t convinced the public has locked onto the Argyros issue or other publicized controversies Rackauckas has had in or out of his office.

“It’s not as if these issues are like Rampart, where the district attorney turned a blind eye and was putting on false testimony,” Earley says.

Still, Wade has some ammo. This week, the association representing Orange County deputy district attorneys endorsed him. So, too, has the Orange County Attorneys Assn.

While the public probably doesn’t have those groups on its radar screen, Wade could place them there.

If Wade needs inspiration, he can look to Los Angeles. In 1992, Deputy Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti reveled in unseating his boss, Ira Reiner.

Then, in 2000, another deputy did it again. Steve Cooley beat his boss and a two-term incumbent--a guy named Gil Garcetti.

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com.