The Mariposa County’s Board of Supervisors are once again seeking candidates to serve as the Mariposa County District Attorney for the second time in as many years.
The application period opened last Friday and are due by 5 p.m. Aug. 31, with public interviews conducted by the board to begin the following week.
The selected candidate will serve for two years, with the term expiring Dec. 31, 2028. The position will be on the ballot in November 2028.
Walter Wall, who was elected in November 2022 to serve as DA, announced he was resigning earlier this month. His last official day is June 30.
Last week, Wall was hired as county counsel for Tuolumne County, a job that pays $228,571. That is nearly $48,000 more than Wall made as Mariposa District Attorney at a salary of $180,420.
Wall told colleagues he was disappointed by the tone of the conversation when the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors chose not to increase his salary when given the opportunity in April. Wall had argued that he made 13 to 18 percent less than DAs in eight comparable counties.
At the time, County Administrative Officer Joe Lynch said he was working on a more comprehensive plan to increase the salary for department heads, including the elected positions.
That plan apparently didn’t come soon enough for Wall.
For the board of supervisors, Wall’s departure must seem like DA deja vu.
It is the second time Wall has resigned as Mariposa DA.
Wall stepped away in December 2024 to become Mariposa’s county counsel, and the board subsequently appointed Mike McAfee to fulfill the term in January 2025.
But McAfee resigned after only eight months on the job in August 2025, after a Merced man said he had sold McAfee the drug methamphetamine. The board then appointed
Wall as DA, a post he had been elected to in the first place.
State law allows a county board of supervisors to appoint replacements to fill the remainder of an elected term.
The term is normally four years, but the current term is effectively six because the California legislature passed a law in 2022 requiring county district attorneys and sheriffs to be elected on the U.S. presidential cycle to improve voter turnout.
The qualifying DA must be a U.S. citizen, a California resident and a registered voter in Mariposa County. They must not have a disqualifying criminal record.
The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisor’s waived a residency requirement June 16 when it hired Wall, who said he still intends to live in Bear Valley.
“I encourage you to look at the market, it’s challenging,” said Tuolumne County Supervisor Jaron Brandon, in reference to Wall’s quarter-million dollar salary.
“This is expensive, but its cheaper than the alternative to hire the level of experience we need,” Brandon said.
In fact, hiring Wall is expected to bring a “modest cost savings” compared to the $22,000 a month Tuolumne County had been paying for the last nine months for outside legal counsel.
Tuolumne County Supervisor Mike Holland said he calculated the difference on a cost per minute rate, because “that’s how they (attorneys) like to bill.”
The outside counsel cost $5.80 a minute while Wall will only cost $1.80 a minute, Holland said he calculated.
Wall was not present for the vote because he was in Fresno County Superior Court for a hearing with Oak Fire suspect Ed Wackerman, after the case had a change of venue.
Holland relayed that Wall sent him a text that morning, sending his regrets.
“It would not look very good if he said, ‘By the way I’m skipping my court trial because I have to accept my new job.’ He said it much more nicer and way more professional than that, but that’s what he gets for texting it to me,” said Holland.
Responses (0)