DIAMOND BAR : Councilman, Wife Face Suit Over Senate Race

Two Diamond Bar political activists have filed a lawsuit in Pomona Superior Court against City Councilman Gary G. Miller and his wife, Cathleen, alleging that the couple violated a state election finance law.

Miller is one of six candidates in the May 16 special election for the 60th Assembly District seat currently held by Independent Paul Horcher. Horcher is the subject of a recall attempt on the same ballot.

But the lawsuit stems from Miller’s failed bid in September, 1994, to fill the seat vacated by former state Sen. Frank Hill (R-Whittier).

During the campaign for Hill’s Senate seat, Miller accepted $470,000 in loans from his wife, according to financial disclosure forms.

According to the lawsuit, filed April 19 by William J. Gross and Lawrence C. (Max) Maxwell, Miller violated election law by accepting that much money from his wife. The Political Reform Act limits contributions to $1,000 for candidates running in special elections.

Miller, who has been embroiled in many political and legal disputes with Gross and Maxwell in the past, said the funds used in his Senate election bid were drawn from a joint account controlled by him and his wife. The law does not limit contributions or loans that candidates make to their own campaigns.