Where’s Jeff Reisig? The Prosecutor & CDAA Chief Is Missing In Action. His Challenger Says Spitzer Should Resign

You might not have heard of Yolo County, California. We hadn’t. There’s no Fashion Island anywhere in its borders. 

So, why should you care?

Well, Jeff Reisig. He is the Yolo County District Attorney and the President of the powerful California District Attorneys Association. The CDAA has some serious juice across the state. It shapes budgets and policy priorities. It even lobbies for and against legislation in Sacramento. What the President of the CDAA says–or doesn’t say–matters. 

You’d think no one in California would be faster to condemn racist statements than Jeff Reisig. That’s why OC Watch was shocked to hear nothing from Mr. Reisig after Orange County District Attorney Todd Spizter gave his leadership team a seminar on why Black men date white women, which, needless to say, is racist. 

While Reisig said nothing, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, the top prosecutor in California’s second most populous county, was the first to rescind her endorsement of Spitzer. Stephan recently left the Republican party, but still holds endorsements from Republican political action committees such as the California Women’s Leadership Association (a group that also rescinded its endorsement of Spitzer). Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, a Republican, also disavowed and retracted his endorsement of Spitzer. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, a Democrat who is not seeking re-election, became the third elected prosecutor to confirm she too had withdrawn her endorsement of Spitzer. Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe followed over the weekend, rescinding his endorsement. And Inyo County District Attorney Tom Hardy told OC Watch that he never endorsed Spitzer in the first place, despite Spitzer listing him as an endorser on his campaign website. 

Given how many other elected prosecutors from the CDAA rescinded their endorsement of Spitzer while their President said nothing, OC Watch worried that perhaps the news of the racism scandal didn’t make it all the way up the coast to Yolo County. Thus, OC Watch emailed Mr. Reisig on his Yolo County, CDAA, and personal emails. We called his cell phone and texted him multiple times over the weekend and this morning.

Today, finally, Wendy Wilcox, Mr. Reisig’s executive assistant, said that Reisig was “out of the office last week, and out of the state this week.” OC Watch followed up to clarify that surely the District Attorney is not completely out of pocket, unable to stay in touch with leadership in the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, abide by his duties as President of the CDAA, and respond to sensitive media inquiries. But we never heard back.

Cynthia Rodriguez, who is running against Reisig in the Yolo County District Attorney’s race later this year, told OC Watch that Reisig’s silence is “yet another example of how Yolo’s current district attorney’s ideology is out of step with Yolo County residents, and how his policies are ill suited to tackle our public safety challenges.” Rodriguez added: “If his commitment to serving all of our residents means anything he will withdraw his support and call on Spitzer to resign.”

OC Watch is scouring the Earth to aid in the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office’s effort to  find Mr. Reisig. This story will be updated as soon as we obtain a sign of life.