The bid to lead Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office recently became a three-way race as a longtime prosecutor announced his intention to run for the position.

Deputy District Attorney John R. Mayne, 51, filed a statement of intent to run for District Attorney of Stanislaus County on Aug. 16.

"I've been asked by my friends and colleagues to run for District Attorney," said Mayne, a 16-year veteran of the office. "I believe I can make Stanislaus County safer and better by reducing the brutal turnover the office has had.

"We continue to hire excellent young prosecutors, but we can't keep them," Mayne continued. "We're going to have about a third of our line deputies in their first year in the office after our current hiring is complete," said Mayne. "I very much love the work of prosecution, and I want the best for this community. That requires some stability."

Mayne will be challenging his current boss, incumbent District Attorney Birgit Fladager and another challenger, Modesto attorney Patrick Kolasinski.

Mayne has prosecuted dozens of homicides and thousands of cases in a career that has included everything from specialization in vehicular manslaughter cases to career criminal prosecution. He was the lead in the prosecution of long-time pastor and high school wrestling coach Doug Porter for murder in 2008. After a three-month trial, Porter was convicted of murder with special circumstances and is serving life without parole for a staged car crash which killed elderly farmer Frank Craig.

The race for district attorney will be on the June 2018 ballot.