Judge Rejects Bid to Stop Pringle From Using Campaign Money

An Orange County Superior Court commissioner Wednesday denied Democratic Assembly candidate Jerry Yudelson’s bid to prevent Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) from accepting or spending any additional campaign funds.

However, Commissioner Julian Cimbaluk, who denied the request for a temporary restraining order against Pringle, scheduled another hearing for April 26.

“This is another political stunt by the Democrats to grab a headline because they can’t win at the polls,” said Seth L. Liebman, Pringle’s attorney.

Yudelson is running in the Democratic primary against Tom Umberg, a former federal prosecutor, for the right to face Pringle in the November general election.

Yudelson sued Pringle earlier this month over the assemblyman’s acceptance of contributions of more than $1,000, the annual limit that a candidate may receive from any one source, established by Proposition 73 in 1988. Yudelson has argued that Pringle should return the money--about $60,000--before being allowed to accept more contributions.

Pringle has argued that the contributions and loans are not governed by Proposition 73, because they were made to a committee he set up to defend himself against a threatened recall last year.

The recall never materialized, but Pringle has used most of the money to pay for his legal defense in a lawsuit stemming from the Republican Party’s use of security guards at polls to discourage non-citizens from voting in the 1988 72nd Assembly District race--which Pringle won by just 800 votes.