OCDA: When I Read This Sentence Just Now, a Chill Went Down My Spine

Rackauckas with blur around features

What has he done so well to deserve being “DA for life”?

From an OC Political post today on the OCGOP early endorsements:

There were unanimous endorsements for Shari Freidenrich and Tony Rackaukas.  I don’t believe that Shari is challenged and given the circumstances surrounding prior challenges, it’s not likely that TRack will see any challengers until he is blind and walking with a cane and willing to step down, none of which seem to be in his future.

I cannot believe that OC voters might not even be given a chance to cast a protest vote against Tony Rackauckas this year.  It’s not like there aren’t big issues to discuss!  Todd Spitzer, you were supposed to run — where are you?

If anyone reading this has heard any rumors of candidates, please let me know.  The list of reasons not to vote for him is long — but one can’t vote against him if he doesn’t have an appointment.

Just think of the cases he’s lost recently.  I’m not just talking about the Kelly Thomas killing case, where he made a dubious at best decision to grandstand by taking it into his own hands rather that letting one or more of the best of his prosecutors make a go of it, but also losing the appellate case on his ill-advised (to be kind about it) gang injunctions, and more.  Letting the man skate — and then perhaps resign and let the Board of Supervisors install his chosen replacement, subverting the democratic process yet again — without even a murmur of dissent would just be wrong.

That may be “the OC way” — but that doesn’t make it right.


About Greg Diamond

Somewhat verbose attorney, semi-disabled and semi-retired, residing in northwest Brea. Occasionally ran for office against jerks who otherwise would have gonr unopposed. Got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012; Josh Newman then won the seat in 2016. In 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002; Todd Spitzer then won that seat in 2018. Every time he's run against some rotten incumbent, the *next* person to challenge them wins! He's OK with that. Corrupt party hacks hate him. He's OK with that too. He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.) His daughter is a professional campaign treasurer. He doesn't usually know whom she and her firm represent. Whether they do so never influences his endorsements or coverage. (He does have his own strong opinions.) But when he does check campaign finance forms, he is often happily surprised to learn that good candidates he respects often DO hire her firm. (Maybe bad ones are scared off by his relationship with her, but they needn't be.)