Spitzer to skip out on the OCDA candidates debate set for April 25

ORANGE, CA – Organizers of the first public debate for Orange County District Attorney have confirmed that Todd Spitzer has refused their invitation. All other candidates have confirmed their attendance for Monday’s debate, which will be held Monday, April 25th, from 6PM to 8PM. Members of the public and the media can register to attend here.

“With homicides at a 22-year high, homelessness at record levels, and with his administration devolving into a circus–it appears Todd Spitzer just figured out that defending his record is simply impossible,” said former Marine Judge Advocate Pete Hardin. “If he’s not up for a public discussion on the issues voters care about, he’s not up to the job of District Attorney.”

Pete Hardin has accepted all four debate invitations. The first debate will be held this upcoming Monday, April 25th, from 6PM to 8PM. Members of the public and the media can register to attend here.

Current Orange County District Attorney Republican Todd Spitzer’s tenure has been defined by scandal. Most recently, Spitzer made racist remarks when discussing whether or not to seek the death penalty against a Black man. Four women in Spitzer’s office have filed claims asserting Spitzer promoted an employee and close friend despite having been made aware of the sexual harassment complaints against him. Spitzer later allowed the employee, who was the best man at his wedding, to retire with top flight benefits. Spitzer also attempted to drop sexual assault charges against high-profile defendants, leading a judge to remove him from the case. Survivors of the sexual assault survivors were “dragged through the mud” and “grossly mistreated” by Spitzer for two and a half years, leading two of them to abandon their case.

Spitzer has been involved in an evidence booking scandal, a jailhouse informant scandal, and has defamed a victim of OC’s deadliest mass shooting as retaliation for peaceful protest. Spitzer has also defended a DNA collection program known informally as “Spit and Acquit” that coerces defendants to give up their DNA to law enforcement, a practice the ACLU has called “unconstitutional.”

Pete Hardin is a former Judge Advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps, Deputy District Attorney, Special Assistant United States Attorney, and one of Southern California’s leading litigators running for Orange County District Attorney. Pete entered public service when, in 2005, he earned his commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. A combat veteran, Pete served in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012 as a member of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. Pete is a member of the Democratic Party.

Orange County’s rapidly changing electorate has led Democrats to now outnumber Republicans in Orange County holding a 4.1% voter registration advantage.