Wieder Said Under Oath That She Had Degree

Orange County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, whose congressional campaign has been rocked by her admission that she did not attend college as her biographies once said, testified under oath in October that she had earned a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, according to transcripts obtained this week.

Under pressure from a Palos Verdes Estates candidate in the 42nd Congressional District race, Wieder conceded last week that she did not correct an error made 25 years ago by someone who prepared a biographical sheet for her.

Sworn Testimony

She said that she had been ashamed that she was unable to attend college because of family finances.

Wieder said she had stopped claiming the degree before she decided in January to enter the race for the seat being vacated by Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach).

However, barely a month ago on April 4, Wieder signed a transcript of the Oct. 22 deposition declaring under penalty of perjury that her testimony was true.

Asked during that deposition whether she had attended college, Wieder replied: “Yes. Wayne, Wayne State.”

“Did you receive a degree from Wayne State?” Wieder was asked.

“Yes. A B.A. in journalism,” she said.

Asked if she had attended graduate school or taken any graduate courses, she said: “Yes. But I just got a certificate. It was out of UCL (sic) Graduate School of Business. It was a certificate, of course.”

This week, Wieder reiterated her earlier apology for the mistake in her biographies and said she did not remember those specific questions in the deposition. She compared her answers to ones she would make if someone asked her what time she got up in the morning, or if she brushed her teeth.

“It was that kind of routine answer,” she said. “I believed it. I must have.”

She added: “I might have made a mistake to the attorneys, but I’m not saying it to voters. It was not relevant to what I was testifying on.”

Wieder, who was obviously upset, accused her opponents of badgering her on issues that have nothing to do with the campaign.

‘Dirty Politics’

“This is typical dirty politics,” Wieder said. “They’re out to destroy me, not to win an election, and I’m not going to let them do it. I made a mistake. I’m running on 14 years of a good record of service to this community. I’ve made a contribution.”

She challenged her opponents to compare their own records to hers.

“I don’t believe that anyone can stand up who presents themselves to public life and say there is only one mistake they made in their lives for which they have to apologize,” she said. “I made a mistake. I apologized for the mistake and, damn it, am I going to be crucified for that mistake forever?”

The 42nd District stretches from north Orange County to Torrance and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

One of Wieder’s opponents, Dana Rohrabacher of Palos Verdes Estates, who revealed that Wieder did not have a college degree, said this week that he did not know about the deposition.

“It sounds very serious,” Rohrabacher said. “I would hope that this is not a sad finale to an energetic political career. But if she has committed perjury, then certainly she is not going to win this race.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregg Prickett said Wieder’s statements during the deposition would not constitute criminal perjury. To warrant prosecution as perjury, a misstatement under oath has to be “a big mistake” and something that is material to the case at hand, he said.

“The question is, is it something that bears on the case and that they should have known at the time was a mistake?” Prickett said.

Wieder’s deposition was taken in a lawsuit involving a flooding incident five years ago in two Huntington Beach mobile home parks, when an earthen levee gave way on the Fountain Valley Channel, inundating some of the homes in 8 or 9 feet of water.

Wieder was sued in her role as a county official and no longer is a defendant in the case, according to attorneys involved in the lawsuit.

The disclosure that Wieder had misrepresented her educational background under oath is one of several recent blows to her campaign. Wieder also has been threatened with a recall by slow-growth advocates over votes on development agreements, and her campaign finances have been called into question by her opponents.

Andrew Littlefair of Torrance, another of Wieder’s opponents in the congressional race, said Wieder should “seriously consider withdrawing from the race.”

Sal Russo, a partner in the political consulting firm of Russo, Watts and Rollins, said it remains to be seen how much damage the disclosures about Wieder’s false academic record and the threatened recall campaign will have.

“There is no question that these things have taken a toll on her,” Russo, whose firm is not involved in the 42nd District race, said in a telephone interview from Sacramento.

But he said the college-degree issue should not be fatal to her candidacy unless her opponents can successfully “go right to the trust and confidence issue.”

“Everybody engages in a bit of puffery, and I don’t think it’s going to erase somebody who has a record,” he said.

Russo added that there is the possibility that Wieder could receive a sympathy vote if her Republican opponents attack her too hard.

“These things can backfire in a hurry, particularly if you’re dealing with a woman candidate,” Russo said. “You have to be careful bashing a woman candidate. You can’t appear to be unfair, unwarranted or extreme.”

Times Staff Writer Jeffrey L. Rabin contributed to this story.