Former O.C. fraud figure quietly stripped of election authority

An Orange County official once convicted of election fraud quietly has been stripped of his authority over the county’s Registrar of Voters.

Labor leaders had expressed outrage that Chief Operating Officer Mark Denny, who pleaded guilty to election fraud in 1996, was given authority over the department tasked with running elections.

Denny will keep administrative and budget oversight of the registrar’s department, but Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley will now report directly to County Chief Executive Officer Mike Giancola.

The move, Orange County Employees Assn. General Manager Nick Berardino said in a statement, will “restore the confidence of the voting public, and will protect [Denny] from constant scrutiny after every close election.”

Early last month, Berardino wrote in an email to county supervisors that the decision to put Denny in charge “demonstrates a clear disregard of the sanctity of the precious American privilege of the vote.”

The union is locked in a series of heated contract negotiations with the county.

Giancola responded at the time by defending Denny, saying that he had “full confidence” in his work.

Last week, though, his office issued a new organization chart—one that shows a direct line between Kelley and Giancola.

The Orange County Register first reported the move.

Giancola echoed his support for Denny in a statement this week, saying that he “has done an outstanding job,” adding that the conviction has since been expunged from the former county parks director’s record.

But Giancola did not immediately respond to a request to explain why he made the change.

The misdemeanor fraud charge stemmed from Denny’s involvement in a Republican scheme to manipulate the ballot in a state Assembly race by circulating nominating petitions for a decoy Democratic candidate.

At the time, Denny was working as an aide to then-Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle. He resigned his post and was sentenced to three years’ probation, along with community service and a fine, according to published reports at the time.

Denny was also barred from participating in campaign work during his probation.

According to county spokeswoman Jean Pasco, Denny later worked as former Supervisor Bill Campbell’s chief of staff before he was hired as director of county parks in 2008.

Twitter: @JillCowan

Jill.cowan@latimes.com