Spitzer already disses his voters

June 6, 2012

By Steven Greenhut

The registrar hadn’t even certified the results on the Orange County supervisor election, when winning candidate Todd Spitzer declared that he already is seeking another office — that of district attorney. This is from the end of the Orange County Register story from last night: “Spitzer said he planned to focus on public pension reform as supervisor. He also confirmed that he plans to run for Orange County district attorney if the office is open in 2014.

His focus on pension reform is funny given that he, more than any other O..C official, created the pension mess and he has no history of trying to reform that system. But the shocking thing is that he already announced his bid for DA in 2014, which confirms what his critics have said all along. Spitzer apparently doesn’t want to be supervisor. He just wants a paycheck and a high-visibility office while he plans his run to become the county’s top prosecutor.

O.C. politicos do and should fear Todd Spitzer in the DA’s office. Many have warned me over the years about the perils of putting this ambitious, publicity-seeking, cop-union ally in this powerful role, where he can potentially target political enemies and focus on press conferences rather than justice. That’s the fear, and it’s well warranted given his long record of expanding government power, dissing civil liberties and carrying water for public-safety unions.

But these O.C. Republicans have been quiet since he has rebuilt his career following his firing from the DA’s office. Are they trying to gain favor or do they simply fear him?


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Steven GreenhutTodd Spitzer

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