NEWPORT BEACH : Amburgey Pleads Not Guilty; Trial Set

Former Costa Mesa City Councilman Orville Amburgey on Monday pleaded not guilty to a conflict-of-interest charge alleging that he improperly voted on a measure that affected a company his firm did business with.

Amburgey did not appear for his arraignment in Harbor Municipal Court, but Lawrence Harvey, his attorney, entered the plea on his behalf before Judge Richard F. Toohey. A pretrial conference was scheduled for May 23, and a jury trial was set for June 4.

The vote in question concerned a change in the franchise agreement between the city and Copley-Colony Cablevision of Costa Mesa Inc. in 1987. A misdemeanor complaint charges that Amburgey improperly voted on the amendment even though his electrical firm did business with and had received more than $900 from the cable company the year before.

The state Political Reform Act requires public officials to abstain from making decisions that would affect any income source that provides them more than $250 within 12 months of the vote.

Amburgey has charged that the investigation by City Atty. Thomas Kathe was politically motivated to prevent him from retaining his seat on the council. Kathe turned over information about the allegations to the district attorney’s office just days before last November’s election in which Amburgey was soundly defeated.

Amburgey also denied any wrongdoing regarding the criminal charge against him and has suggested that the minutes of the meeting in which the vote was taken could be wrong.

His attorney also has said that even if prosecutors can prove Amburgey voted on the issue, the conflict-of-interest laws do not apply because he did not benefit from the vote.

If convicted, Amburgey could face a $10,000 fine and be barred from seeking political office or acting as a lobbyist for four years.