I’ll be turning in my forms to run for District Attorney against Tony Rackauckas (with or without Susan Kang Schroeder joining him on the ballot to take the baton) TODAY BY 5:00! I’ll need ideally 40 signatures to do so — if you’re a loyal (or even less loyal) Orange Juice Blog reader, I’d like you to be one of them!
I’ll be outside of the Registrar of Voters Office (somewhere in the shade, like under the closest of their delightful solar panels in the parking structure) at 4:00 p.m. sharp! Come meet me! Talk to me! Sign my forms!
And watch this space for updates!
Me doing my (volunteer blogging) job at last year’s OCCORD dinner. Photo by Lou Delgado.
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.)
If people can go to Facebook and beat the bushes to get people out to the ROV at 4:00 to sign my nomination papers, I would appreciate it! We already have the minimum, but I want more to ward off any challenges!
My phone is almost dead, so I may be out of contact, but I WILL be out in front of the ROV at 4:00! See you there!
Did I not mention yet – total triumph. Well, not total – Greg couldn’t afford the ballot statement. $29,5000 – Jesus, that’s outrageous! But we got way more signatures than we needed, and Greg is IN!
*We would have been there…..but we just looked….at this. Ding Hao Professor D…..you are guaranteed to do good.
Best of Success!
BTW This just popped into my inbox-from OC Political-
http://ocpolitical.com/2014/03/07/troy-edgars-11th-hour-bid-for-clerk-recorder-rejected-by-registrar-after-surveillance-video-review/
That was so great, I knew that Troy’s consultant – WHOM I CAN NAME, the infamous BRETT BARBRE – was skulking around the room full of politicos trying to collect signatures at the last moment. I got a great picture of them! Then I tried to leave the building after 5, there was some tension, I knew something was going on… I think this deserves its own story. Pinche Troy Edgar… let me go get that picture off my phone
Here’s the very compromised Los Alamitos Councilman/Mayor Troy Edgar, with his consultant, the famously hinky Brandman/Daly crony Brett Barbre. Somehow Troy’s run against Hugh Nguyen was so last-minute that Brett was running around the registrar’s office collecting signatures at the last minute… and apparently AFTER the last minute. Bang – disqualified. Awkward too because almost everyone there was a Republican politician or consultant, an incestuous little group, and Hugh was sitting there watching the whole thing … he suggested I snap this picture. I said, “Troy! Brett!” and they turned around, now it’s for the history books…
Thanks you made my night. We picked this up at losalnews.com (formerly letsfixlosal.com)
My only question is how, after running for two years for Congress, Assembly and now OC Clerk-Recorder, Mr. Edgar is going to run, with a straight face, saying that he wants to be re-elected to the Los Alamitos City Council.He appears to be doing just about everything to run for a position to get him out of Los Alamitos (at least in the last two elections).
Should be interesting in August when Los Al City Council papers have to be filed.
[PS: would love to have permission to run the image over at losalnews.com]
Go for it bro……. glad to make your night!
I was mulling over writing my own piece about the silly episode… but maybe it’s more cut out for you. Contact me in the morning for more details if you want.
Thank you, Ron. But massive thanks to Vern and Marselle — Marselle, that Lt. Gov. candidate wants his pen back, by the way! — and to various others who I’m not sure want to be thanked openly.
Even some of the mainstream Republicans there were quietly saying that Rackauckas is vulnerable after munging the Kelly Thomas case. I got the sense that some of them were looking at me and thinking “ok, now why didn’t one of us run against him again?” Well, guys, I tried to draw you in, but no one else had the guts! I’ll attract some top-flight challengers in 2018, of course — and they won’t be Susan Kang Schroeder!
I hear that what Todd has been saying glumly is “It’s not my time yet.”
Jesus, Republicans are weird. I remember hearing the exact same sentence from OTHER Republicans who were expected to run and didn’t. I wouldn’t have pegged Todd as someone who follows orders from above, especially after all his trash talk of 2011, but I guess that comes with the Party.
What does the OCGOP have that frightens its members so? Dark soundproofed dungeons? Quiet merciless thugs with iron bars and brass knuckles? Reams of garish blackmail material filed away in that building Tom Daly bought? Someone? Bueller?
It’s basically cowardice. Spitzer has lots of money and name recognition (okay, notoriety) but the big shots don’t like him or trust him and he folded like a typical bully. I think in the back of their minds the ‘Pugs fear he might go all Capizi on them. Fat chance of that, though, adding to the irony.
In 2016 Spitzer will have to give up his BOS job if he wants to run for DA.
And BTW, Jesus has nothing to do with any of this.
Well… but Jesus wept.
He DID weep.
As you know, Vern, I’m flabbergasted that I’m the only one to rub against Rack. (I think I’ll stop abbreviating him as “T-Rack.” It makes headlines too long — and he doesn’t exactly deserve a hip “J-Lo” style nickname anyway.)
But in using my employment law experience with trying to square what I’ve heard about Rack from the friends and associates of the Deputy DAs with the fact that none of them will challenge him, the hypothesis that I keep coming up with is “vindictive boss.”
And I don’t necessarily mean Rack himself; much of the problem seems to be his ambitious Chief of Staff and apparent heir-designee to the office, Susan Kang. (I think I’ll stop calling her “Schroeder,” too. You said that she’s divorced, right? And we need the headline space.)
I suspect that almost every Deputy DA will publicly endorse Rackauckas — because they’d better, or else and then secretly vote for me. Because I’m the crowbar that pries Susan Kang out of the DA’s office. I may not last more than one term — or if they have their way, even one term — but if I get Susan Kang out of the current “line of succession” for DA I’ll have done Orange County a huge service.
Todd Spitzer, you could have done this. But you didn’t, so I will.
How about Ruckus?
A couple more scenes from this afternoon at the registrar’s. Our Greg Diamond boldly going after Tony Rackauckas, and Wendy Leece boldly going after Dana Rohrabacher. (you can see Travis Allen filling out his paperwork behind Wendy – the lucky duck is running unopposed.)
And here are a couple of unobjectionable incumbents, who I’ll probably vote for, because if they’re doing their jobs well who cares if they’re Democrat or Republican? Assessor Webster Guillory and Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen. (and who said the county is run by just white men?)
A couple of corrections, my friend:
(1) Allen is not running unopposed. Democrat Joel Block is on the ballot. Read my updates, dammit!
(2) You may vote for Hieu — although his opponent Gary Pritchard is a great guy, so OC will be in good shape either way — but I predict as a mortal lock that you’re not going to vote for Guillory, at least in the primary. You’ll be voting for Jorge Lopez — a longtime high-level manager in the Assessor’s office who left after he tried to blow the whistle on, among other things, Guillory’s expensive debacle of a computer system and the employment practices surrounding it. Unfortunately, he blew the whistle to Tony Rackauckas — so you can guess how well THAT went. Can’t for you to meet Jorge — who is a Democrat, but not at all partisan. Just an honest competent reformer. I’ll send you his number.
Go Jorge!
Joel Block needs to hammer on the 405 toll lanes as Travis is not strong on that at all. Same with Jim Moreno in his run against Ms Steel.
Okay I’ll read your update – it’s in final form now?
The long post I’d been updating all week is now current through Thursday night. I put up a separate post a few minutes ago consisting solely of updates and notable omissions — but NOT going into loving detail on “The Fail of Troy.” I’ll combine the two pieces later, I guess; sometime before the election. (Or maybe after. Or maybe BigBox will do it for me! Hint, hint.)
the real Wendy and allies! Go Wendy!
GREAT Pictures!
Before I fall asleep on the keyboard, this belongs (if anywhere?) in the Weekend Open Thread, (and it’s Obvious that will be delayed this weekend, with good reason), so feel free to move it. If you must, jump to the SECOND one, which is the ad that went viral, but I got just as big a kick out of the first, longer one, about “the reasons for” and ” the making of”- (which I doubt went viral) so I would watch THAT one first! Cheers!
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/03/06/daniel_muessig_video_this_is_either_the_best_or_worst_lawyer_commerical.html
Cheers!
*”Webster is such a clean old man…….ya gotta love him!” or was that Paulies grandfather in Hard Days Night?
Greg, I’m confused. Are you running a serious candidacy, or is this some attention-seeking, pat yourself on the back kind of business? I ask because although I think you’re a good guy, so far you seem to be portraying yourself as a sacrificial lamb, and that’s no way to run a serious campaign, and it’s going to be tedious reading these blogs. If you’re serious, get your shit together and start running (and talking) a serious campaign.
P.S.
The Weekly seems to think you’re serious, and despite Gustavo hating your guts, covered you decently.
Fair question, Steve. The answer is that I have multiple goals in running. I do want to win — but of my goals with this race, it’s probably the toughest one to achieve. If I achieve other of my goals without winning, the race will certainly be worthwhile. But if I am achieving those goals — well, that may lead me to win.
I can’t yet tell you whether I have a realistic chance, but it’s a lot more reachable than people may think. Mostly, it’s a matter of money: if I can raise enough money, then I can take advantage of Rackauckas’s many extreme vulnerabilities (which have gotten more significant since he Kelly Thomas trial. I had thought that those vulnerabilities might lead one of our quite capable DAs are willing to take him on — but what I hear is that (while they may tell you to your face that he’s doing a good job) they’re actually afraid of career retaliation from him, Kang Schroeder, etc. (In my employment law practice, I see this a lot.) That’s a sad statement about the dynamics of that office. It will be much better under me — no one would face any threats over challenging me in 2018. I’m just not like that.
I’ll be aggressive about exposing and exploiting Rackauckas’s vulnerabilities. And the man has probably lost his chops at campaigning, much as he has lost his obviously chops at prosecuting. And the fact is that no one has any real idea of how he will respond to a strong, aggressive campaign. He can’t be happy about this. And that gives me a real chance to win — because I’ll be hard to hide from. (I write a blog, after all.)
I would not call myself a sacrificial lamb because when I’m fighting for principles — and for the welfare of others rather than my own — I am anything but meek. And, again, I can accomplish a lot in this race even without winning.
I expect, for example, to get Rackauckas to commit that he won’t support Susan Kang Schroeder as his successor — and ideally to get her to agree not to seek appointment to it should Rackauckas leave office. So far as I’m concerned, so long as he seems to be a catspaw for her appointment after he resigns sometime during this next term — that’s not a scenario originating with me — then I’m running against her as much as I’m running against him. And lots of people, across the spectrum — even ones who don’t particularly like me — would love to see me derail Kang Schroeder’s ascent into office, because she’d be an unrelenting horror show. (And, they probably figure, they can probably recall me within a year — and have a real election to replace me rather than a vote of 3-5 Supervisors.)
As one of my themes will be forming a DA’s office that truly does respect people’s 1st, 4th, 8th, 14th, and 15th amendment rights (among others — yes, including the 2nd, though how to do that is a long and serious discussion where I am able to talk to both sides), I look forward to talking to people in lower-income communities about those issues — and helping get them to trust the political process enough to register and vote.
As for your comments about “attention-seeking, pat myself on the back” — no. I wasn’t going to run for anything this year, and I don’t need the ego boost. What I look forward to this spring is collecting stories of complaints of public corruption that were sent to the DA and dismissed with inadequate investigation. (I already have some good ones.) In short, I look forward to raising critical issues and changing the debate.
I’m pretty sure that you can take this, so I’ll speak bluntly: you should not be sitting in an armchair judging whether I’m running my campaign effectively or seriously enough or for the most admirable reasons. My winning (or not) will take care of itself — and it will depend as much on people like you as on me. I suggest that you judge me by the standards of political activism, since I’m not one seeking personal glory or riches: am I using my time, money, and effort in ways that are likely to mske the world somewhat better.
And, as a good-hearted activist, you should judge yourself by the same standard: are you using your own time, money, and effort to good effect? The more money I get, the more I can spend on mailings and media to reach voters and GOTV to convert support into votes. I’ll be spreading a message at a time when people really need to hear it and are more likely than usual to listen. That’s pretty good activism, isn’t it? It’s more effective than a bunch of morning rallies holding signs on a street corner.
Give me adequate resources, and I really would beat him — because I would do a much better job as DA. Give me half that adequate amount of resources, and I’ll build a future anti-corruption + rights-respecting constituency that will pressure future DA candidates to adopt similar policies and programs — and, after we roll the dice — maybe win anyway. We’ll know a lot more in 12 weeks, right?
The question that good people like you should be asking is not “what will Diamond make of his campaign?” but “what will I help make of Diamond’s campaign?” What money, effort, time, expertise can you devote — or help assemble? I’m giving you — and everyone — a great opportunity here. What will you do with it?
Again, thanks for asking the question — I hope that this is an adequate answer.
*Greg is going to get the sympathy vote….no matter what. May have to cross over and give him our votes!