Michael Schroeder, one of the local Republican Party’s most influential fundraisers, has filed for divorce from his longtime wife, Susan Kang Schroeder, who serves as chief of staff to District Attorney Tony Rackauckas.
Schroeder filed for divorce from his wife of 11 years on Dec. 28, citing irreconcilable differences, according to Orange County Superior Court documents reviewed by Voice of OC. The two have been separated since December 2011, according to the documents.
Susan Kang Schroeder has declined comment, and Michael Schroeder could not be reached for comment.
The couple cast a large shadow over Orange County’s political landscape during the past decade. Schroeder served as the California Republican Party chairman and a key fundraising force behind Rackauckas since his first election campaign. They were also instrumental to the election campaigns of former Sheriff Mike Carona.
Carona was found guilty in 2008 of federal corruption charges and is serving a sentence in a Colorado prison.
Rackauckas has been elected to four terms as district attorney, winning his first two elections with 60 percent of votes and running unopposed his last two terms.
Rackauckas had at one point declared he would not seek reelection in 2014. But following the rancorous firing of his protege, Deputy DA Todd Spitzer, in 2010 and amidst rumors that he was grooming Kang Schroeder for the DA slot, Rackauckas announced he would run in 2014.
It remains to be seen how the divorce filing will affect Michael Schroeder’s participation in Rackauckas’ 2014 campaign.
Please contact Norberto Santana Jr. directly at nsantana@voiceofoc.org and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/norbertosanana.