California Democrats may think three’s a charm with their latest district attorney candidate, but after soft-on-crime prosecutors wrecked Los Angeles and San Francisco, it’s now three strikes and you’re out, conservatives say.
Orange County’s staunch law-and-order District Attorney Todd Spitzer has found himself embroiled in a bitter contest against Democratic challenger Peter Hardin, who is hoping to capitalize on the wave of liberal prosecutors sweeping the nation — largely funded by billionaire George Soros.
“When it comes to the career criminals and repeat offenders preying on the system, we need to hammer those people,” Spitzer told the Washington Examiner. “The difference between me and the woke Hardins, George Gascons, and that ilk is they think everyone can be reformed and no one should be in prison because of social programs. You can see from the looting and smash-and-grabs that nothing can be further from the truth.”
A county that was once the Republican Party’s national crown jewel has tarnished as Democrats have made inroads into elected offices once thought untouchable a decade ago. However, prosecutors and police have traditionally taken a hard-line approach to criminality, and so far, Orange County has escaped the massive violence elsewhere in the state.
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Spitzer frequently uses #NoLAinOC to drive home his point, including in a Christmas post about a retail theft arrest. “DON’T MESS WITH OC! WE ARE NOT LADA GASCON! #NoLAinOC,” he tweeted.
Undaunted, Hardin hired the same campaign consultant as Gascon in a bid to “bring Orange County’s criminal justice system into the 21st century,” he tweeted. The race is in full swing as accusations of corruption and sexual assault, among others, are thrown about.
“Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, Spitzer’s campaign finance reports reveal that he has retained John Thomas, a known pandemic profiteer and U.S. Department of Justice investigation target, for campaign consulting,” a Hardin press release from Aug. 3, 2021, said. “Spitzer paid Thomas $23,000 in 2021 after paying him over $1 million for previously serving as his Chief Campaign Strategist.”
Thomas was investigated but never charged with any crime, according to reports.
Spitzer then released a campaign video with audio of Hardin speaking at a Democratic event, boasting of meeting with far-left PACs run by Black Lives Matter activists and the wives of Instagram and Netflix executives.
“These are all the groups across the country that are interested in criminal justice reform: Real Justice PAC, Smart Justice California, Courage California,” Hardin said. “I’ve met with all of them, developed relationships with all of them. They’re extremely interested in this campaign.”
Todd Spitzer with flag.jpgReal Justice was created by BLM founder Shaun King, and recently ousted BLM President Patrisse Cullors serves as an adviser. Board members on Smart Justice include the wives of Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger, while Courage California has former George Soros Open Society Foundation fellow Anat Shenker-Osorio.
Los Angeles’s Gascon was ushered into power as district attorney a year ago with help from Black Lives Matter and Soros, as was Chesa Boudin in San Francisco. Both men are facing recalls as their cities have exploded in waves of violence amid policies of lowballing charges on felony crimes.
None of the above groups have shown up on Hardin’s latest campaign finance statement, which had a cutoff of June 30, 2021. However, some blogs have stated without offering proof that big funders such as Soros will be donating once the campaign gets underway. Hardin raised $380,182 n 2021, with $291,565 in cash on hand. Spitzer raised $379,380 in 2021 and had $547,373 in cash.
Hardin will have an uphill battle to unseat Spitzer. The gregarious district attorney authored a state constitutional amendment on victims’ rights and has spent decades culminating an anti-crime platform in Orange County as a trial prosecutor, state legislator, and county supervisor.
“I’m fighting for my life to protect Orange County against the woke prosecutors,” Spitzer said. “This is 100% of my time and effort — I refuse to let them turn Orange County into San Francisco and L.A. I literally wake up every day just trying to keep them from taking us.”
Hardin’s LinkedIn says he served as an Orange County deputy district attorney for a year, in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for two years, and as a JAG officer in the Marine Corps for five years. The Orange County Register reviewed Hardin’s discharge papers and reported that he left due to “unacceptable conduct.”
Spitzer tweeted, “Wannabe George Gascon and woke OCDA candidate Pete Hardin was forced out of the military for sexual misconduct.”
Bloggers have also accused Hardin of sexual misconduct, including incidents in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. He denied this in the Orange County Register article and did not respond to numerous requests for comment for this article.
Meanwhile, Spitzer responded by saying in a press release that Hardin was “forced to resign from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office after getting caught engaging in even worse behavior” than his alleged sexual misconduct in the military.
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“We will continue to shed light on Pete Hardin’s sexual and professional misconduct, incompetence, and struggle with the truth over the course of this campaign so that we can protect our community and stop Hardin from destroying public safety,” Spitzer said.
