Peter Hardin, a former U.S. Marine who served in Afghanistan, announced Tuesday he will challenge incumbent Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer in next year's election. Hardin, 42, says he would seek to clean up what he sees as a scandal-ridden office, which has been hit with accusations of running a secret DNA database. He also describes himself as a progressive prosecutor. I spoke with Hardin recently about his candidacy. "I'm not a politician," he said, contrasting himself with Spitzer, who was a state assemblyman and member of the OC Board of Supervisors before being elected DA three years ago. Hardin is a Democrat and Spitzer a Republican, although the office is non-partisan.