Wade Will Challenge Rackauckas Again
A veteran Orange County prosecutor announced Tuesday that he will oppose his boss in the March election for district attorney.
This will be the second campaign for Deputy Dist. Atty. Wally Wade, who three years ago lost to current Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas.
Wade, a prosecutor for 25 years, announced his candidacy in a news release Tuesday. He enters the campaign in a year that Rackauckas has been forced to defend his involvement in cases involving friends and political allies.
Most notably, Rackauckas was widely criticized after he ordered deputies to withdraw a consumer-protection lawsuit against a company owned by billionaire developer George Argyros, a Republican who contributed to Rackauckas’ 1998 campaign.
Rackauckas eventually withdrew from the Argyros case, citing the appearance of a conflict of interest, and the state attorney general reached a settlement with the company.
Rackauckas has strongly denied any wrongdoing and said the controversies were caused by disgruntled employees.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
