Spitzer Lists Inyo County DA As An Endorser, But The DA Says He “Never Endorsed Him.”
There’s never a good time to be discovered as a resume inflator. But there could hardly be a worse time for those allegations to surface against a person than when they are in the middle of a racism scandal. But such is life these days for Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
Spitzer’s campaign website lists Inyo County District Attorney Tom Hardy under the “endorsements'' section.” Here’s a screenshot:
But, reached by email this evening, DA Hardy told OC Watch: “Thanks for asking, but I hadn't ever endorsed him. If I am on some list, it must be a mistake. I better email his campaign. Thanks for the heads up.”
Our editorial policy at OC Watch dubs this a retraction, which means that four elected District Attorneys have withdrawn support for DA Spitzer. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first resume-padding incident either. Spitzer used to claim that he has a “100% conviction rate” until a victims’ rights advocate sued him for lying. So, he downgraded his conviction rate to “92%” in future retellings. Moreover, when Spitzer ran for District Attorney in 2018 he boasted about being “voted” Orange County’s “top prosecutor” but the Orange County Prosecutors Association pushed back publicly saying that the only potentially relevant award was when he was voted “prosecutor of the year” over a quarter-century earlier in 1992.
Here’s a recap of the calls for resignation and rescinded endorsements thus far:
Earlier today, Rick Callender, President of the California State Conference of the NAACP, told OC Watch that the organization is calling for the “immediate resignation” of Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, the latest shockwave in a still worsening racist statement scandal.
Spitzer recently allegedly opined out of nowhere in the middle of a meeting over whether the office should seek to execute a Black man that “he knows many black people who get themselves out of their bad circumstances and bad situations by only dating ‘white women.’” He also said that while in college, he “knew for sure that this black student did so on purpose to get himself out of these bad circumstances and situations.”
Callendar told OC Watch that Spitzer’s behavior “disqualifies him from being an elected official at any level.” He also said that the statements reeked of “Jim Crow views” and reflected “disgusting and atrociously racist beliefs” that “no member of modern civilized society would support or even condone.”
Earlier in the week, Orange County Democratic Party Chairwoman Ada Briceño similarly called for Spitzer’s resignation, saying: “Racism must stop. Spitzer must resign. This is one of many examples why Spitzer is unfit to serve in our halls of justice.”
These calls for Spitzer's resignation arrive on top of something of a Friday massacre for Spitzer’s endorsement tally, with the elected prosecutors of three major California counties rescinding their endorsement of Todd Spitzer:
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, the top prosecutor in California’s second most populous county, told OC Watch yesterday that she had withdrawn her endorsement. Stephan recently left the Republican party, but still holds endorsements from Republican political action committees such as the California Women’s Leadership Association.
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, a Republican, disavowed Spitzer. “The news of the comments and actions of Mr. Spitzer was shocking, disappointing and in the end inexcusable… I must retract my endorsement of Mr. Spitzer in his re-election campaign,” Hestrin told OC Watch through his campaign manager.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, a Democrat who is not seeking re-election, is the third elected prosecutor to confirm to OC Watch that she has withdrawn her endorsement of Spitzer. She declined to make any further statement.