Orange County Assembly candidates ask DA to recuse himself from decoy-candidate review, citing conflict of interest

Citing a conflict of interest, two GOP politicians on Wednesday asked the Orange County District Attorney’s Office to recuse itself from any investigation into an Assembly candidate they claim entered a decoy contestant into their primary race.

Republicans Greg Haskin and Long Pham, who finished third and fourth in the June 5 primary for the 72nd Assembly District, say Westminster City Councilman Tyler Diep, the race’s top GOP vote-getter, placed a stealth candidate on the ballot to take votes from them. Their request to District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, asking that he step away from the investigation, came two weeks after they filed a formal complaint against Diep with the DA’s office.

Diep, who will face Democrat Josh Lowenthal in the Nov. 6 general election, denies the allegation.

Rackauckas has endorsed Diep. Haskin and Pham believe that should disqualify him from leading any inquiry.

“Given your lack of response, combined with your active endorsement and support of Diep…   it is becoming apparent that you should recuse yourself,” Haskin and Pham wrote to Rackauckas.

The District Attorney’s office recently said it was reviewing the case to see if there should be an investigation. The office did not immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment on Wednesday.

Public documents show that Richard Laird, the son of Diep’s campaign co-chair Ed Laird, entered the primary race three days before the filing deadline, and that Ed Laird and another Diep campaign staffer gathered the signatures that allowed Richard Laird to run. Documents also show that Kimberly Ho, who serves with Diep on the Westminster council, signed Richard Laird’s nominating papers despite endorsing Diep in the contest.

Richard Laird later failed to campaign or even cast a vote in the election.

Ho and Richard Laird did not return calls for comment. Previously, Ed Laird called the allegations “nonsense.”