Pringle, GOP Agree to Pay $400,000 to End Poll Suit

Republican Assemblyman Curt Pringle, the county Republican Party and others who infuriated Latinos and Democrats by posting uniformed guards at polling places last year agreed Friday to pay $400,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit against them.

But lawyers for the six Latino voters who filed the federal lawsuit said they have not signed the proposed settlement. Joseph Remcho, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, denied the case had been settled but said he expected a settlement early next week.

“We are under terms of a court order forbidding us from discussing a settlement until it’s final and signed by all parties,” Remcho said. “I’m a lawyer, not a politician, and I’ll abide by the order.”

The proposed settlement encompasses all the remaining defendants. If finalized, it would put an end to the lawsuit, which had been scheduled for trial in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on Jan. 16. The trial could be politically damaging for Pringle as he prepares for his 1990 reelection campaign.

Pringle, local Republican officials and Assemblyman John R. Lewis (R-Orange), who was also a defendant in the case, could not be reached for comment. Michael G. Balmages, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party, hailed the settlement but said he was sorry the case was not going to trial.

“The plaintiffs will not get their day in court, and the public will be deprived (of learning more) about the illegal, unconstitutional and highly unethical acts that were committed by the Orange County Republican Party and the campaign of Mr. Pringle,” he said. “My guess is the Republicans will still deny they did anything wrong.”

Jerry Yudelson, a Garden Grove businessman and Democrat who has launched a campaign against Pringle, said: “From the standpoint of Mr. Pringle, it’s an attempt to avoid negative publicity in an election year. But I can assure him that the Latino community and the Democratic Party cannot be bought off for $400,000. We’re going to have our day in court on Election Day in 1990.”

State and federal agencies are still investigating to determine whether any criminal charges should be filed over the decision to post the guards at 20 polling places in predominantly Latino areas of Santa Ana on Nov. 8, 1988. The guards were called in to watch voters in the race between Pringle and Democrat Christian F. (Rick) Thierbach.

The guards carried signs in English and Spanish warning that non-citizens cannot legally vote. Some Latino leaders complained that it was a clear attempt to scare them away from polling places. County Republican officials responded that the guards were not there to interfere with anyone, only to monitor and report election fraud. They said a rumor had spread that Democrats planned to bus in illegal voters to tip the contest in Thierbach’s favor.

As part of their lawsuit, the plaintiffs asked that the election results be set aside, but if the settlement is finalized, the outcome will stand. Pringle (R-Garden Grove) defeated Thierbach by 867 votes to win the 72nd Assembly District seat.

The plaintiffs in the case from Santa Ana included Rumaldo Madrid, Rudy R. Rios, Jose Diaz Vargas, Helen R. Canales, Tommy Q. Canales and Jane Fantauzzi. It was not immediately clear if the money would be paid to five or six of the voters, because Madrid had agreed to be dismissed from the case.

None of the defendants admitted any wrongdoing by agreeing to settle the lawsuit.

The settlement, hammered out after two weeks of closed-door negotiations among attorneys, does not assign dollar amounts to each defendant. Instead, four insurance carriers that cover the defendants agreed to pay $100,000 each to settle the case, said Darryl Wold, attorney for the county Republican Party.