Buena Park : Candidate Grasha Will Be Tried in Perjury Case

A former Buena Park City Council candidate charged with lying about his address in voter-registration and candidacy documents was ordered Monday to stand trial June 30.

Steve Grasha reiterated his plea of not guilty in North Orange County Municipal Court in Fullerton on Monday. He is charged with four felony counts of perjury and one count of filing false nomination papers in his race for City Council last November.

One of 14 candidates vying for three open seats, Grasha came in seventh, and he attributed his election loss to the publicity surrounding the charges.

On Monday, Grasha said that his case was “identical” to one involving Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates. Gates is being investigated for possible perjury because he listed a San Clemente residence on a voter-registration affidavit and candidacy papers, although he did not live there. Gates has said that delays in a real estate transaction may have caused some confusion over his legal residence.

Grasha said Monday that he, too, listed an address he was scheduled to move into by July, 1985, but one that he did not actually occupy until October because the apartment was not available. Last October, however, when the charges were filed, Grasha had said he had been living in the Buena Park apartment since July.