O.C. supervisor reveals hidden funds

A developer, a lobbyist and a company that does business with the county gave undisclosed donations above the legal contribution limit to newly elected Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen earlier this year, her campaign disclosed Thursday.

The developer of Rancho Mission Viejo, a planned community in southern Orange County, and lobbyist Chris Townsend, whose firm represents four county agencies, gave $5,000 each. Parking Concepts Inc., an Irvine company that holds contracts for parking services at county facilities, gave $2,500. The legal donation limit is $1,600 per election.

The Times reported last month that Nguyen solicited donations that were to be paid directly to her lawyer’s client trust account to pay legal bills stemming from her court fight to protect her razor-thin victory in the February election. The state attorney general’s office has launched an investigation into the contributions.

On May 8, Nguyen was one of five supervisors who voted unanimously to award Parking Concepts a six-month, $780,000 extension on its county parking contracts. The company’s is competing to retain its multimillion-dollar contract.

A woman who answered the phone at Parking Concepts said Gil Barnett, the company’s president, was out of the office and not available until Monday. Neither Nguyen nor her chief of staff returned phone calls Thursday.

In a letter filed with the county registrar Thursday, a lawyer for Nguyen, Phillip Greer, said the campaign initially believed it would be allowable to create a “legal defense fund” that was not subject to campaign funding restrictions, but subsequently realized Orange County law prohibited it.

Nguyen began seeking the donations after she had been declared the winner of the Feb. 6 election by seven votes over Garden Grove schools trustee Trung Nguyen. She hoped to quickly raise $60,000 to pay for the ensuing court fight to protect her victory. A court upheld the decision, and she was sworn into office in late March.

At one point, her campaign was at least $100,000 in debt from the election fight and the legal battle to keep the seat, which covers Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Westminster. A complete picture of her campaign finances will not be available until the next filing deadline in late July.

Sources told The Times in May that Nguyen and her aides advised potential donors that the contributions for her legal defense would not have to be disclosed and that campaign donation limits didn’t apply.

Orange County’s campaign finance law defines donations for legal services as campaign contributions that are subject to the donation limit and disclosure requirements. It also prohibits candidates and their campaigns from having more than one financial account.

Asked in April and early May about the fundraising operation, Nguyen’s campaign aides said they did not know of a legal defense fund or denied outright that it existed. Nguyen did not return several phone calls about the matter until The Times obtained an e-mail she had sent to a potential donor asking for checks to be made out directly to Greer’s law practice with “no contribution limit.”

Nguyen then said she thought the donations were legal because they were for her legal bills rather than her campaign. She has repeatedly said she didn’t know the donors’ identities.

Thursday’s disclosure of the donors came under mounting pressure from political blogs, which continuously noted how many days had passed since Nguyen was supposed to disclose the identities of the donors and the amounts they gave after acknowledging she received contributions over the limit.

Diane Gaynor, a spokeswoman for Rancho Mission Viejo, said the company believed its contribution was not subject to campaign regulations. “We then found out our assumption was incorrect. As soon as we were alerted of the situation, we requested a refund.”

Townsend, the lobbyist, did not return a call seeking comment. His Irvine lobbying firm represents 10 Orange County cities -- including Garden Grove, where Nguyen previously served as a city councilwoman -- as well as the four county agencies. Nguyen’s campaign records show he had already given $1,100 to a separate campaign account, which she put toward her county race.

In Greer’s letter to the registrar, he said the campaign was unsure whether the disclosure requirements applied, since Nguyen never took possession of the funds. In her e-mail solicitation, Nguyen asked that the checks be sent to her Garden Grove campaign address.

Greer did not return phone calls seeking comment.

christian.berthelsen@latimes.com