In 1998, the contest for the open seat in the Orange County district attorney's office pitted Wally Wade, an assistant district attorney, against Tony Rackauckas, a Superior Court judge and former deputy in the office.
Rackauckas won the endorsement of the union representing the district attorney deputies and another representing investigators. He also won The Times' endorsement, and ultimately the election.
What a difference four years has made.
The politically well-connected Rackauckas is now up for reelection. And Wade, still with the district attorney's office, although in a lesser capacity as a senior deputy, is again the sole opponent standing against Rackauckas. The rematch puts the office, and qualifications for it, back in the public spotlight.
This time, however, things are far different.
Rackauckas still has strong political backing, which should help him raise more campaign funds than Wade. And Rackauckas has "incumbent" after his name on the ballot.
But he now also has a track record--his first three years as district attorney. Based on that performance he no longer has the support of the deputies in his office. For the first time in its history, the Assn. of Orange County Deputy District Attorneys is not supporting its incumbent boss. This switch highlights a growing lack of confidence in the way Rackauckas is running the office.
The Orange County Attorneys Assn., composed not only of district attorney deputies but attorneys from the public defender and county counsel offices as well, also has voted to support Wade against the incumbent. The Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, which includes investigators from the district attorney's office, also abandoned Rackauckas. It decided to take no side for now.
We agree with the professionals' evaluation of Rackauckas' poor handling of his office. So we too now urge voters to support Wade.
When Rackauckas took office, we and many others looked for him to provide the fresh vision he promised. The incumbent has done some things well, but his office has been sidetracked by persistent questions about whether his many political associations make it difficult for him to do his job objectively. His vision has been clouded by controversy that has split the office into factions, made a shambles of morale, led to accusations of political favoritism and misconduct and resulted in no less than six investigations last year into office controversies.
