Convicted Felon’s Name Taken off Riverside Ballot

The name of a convicted felon will not appear on the November ballot as a candidate for Riverside County coroner/public administrator as the result of a ruling by the 4th District Court of Appeal.

The felon, Carl B. Smith Jr., finished second for that post in the primary, which normally would have qualified him for the runoff against the top vote-getter, Deputy Coroner Raymond L. Carrillo.

But Smith, formerly chief deputy coroner, pleaded guilty in April to felony charges of perjury and conspiracy to obstruct justice stemming from a grand jury investigation of the coroner office’s hiring practices.

Smith resigned and withdrew from the race in April, too late to remove his name from the June primary ballot, even though the convictions left him ineligible to hold elective office. Despite extensive newspaper coverage, Smith garnered a surprising 27.9% of the June vote.

Third-place finisher Deputy Coroner R.M. (Mickey) Worthington then sued to have his name replace Smith’s on the November ballot. A Riverside County Superior Court judge ruled in Worthington’s favor in July, but candidate Carrillo appealed.

Last week a three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal denied the appeal.