Pringle Aide on Payroll the Day He Rebuked Candidate : Politics: State law bars campaign activity on public time. Assemblyman says the staffer’s workday was over.

In what foes are calling a violation of state law, Assembly GOP Leader Curt Pringle’s chief of staff was working on the state payroll the day he attempted to convince a first-time Republican candidate to stay out of an Orange County legislative race.

Assembly payroll records obtained by The Times show that Jeff Flint, Pringle’s longtime chief of staff, was working for the assemblyman--and state government--when he asked Jacob “Jim” Rems of Irvine not to challenge the incumbent Republican in the upcoming March primary showdown for the 70th Assembly District seat.

Flint has insisted he did not voice any threats, but does not deny he talked with Rems on Nov. 29 about Republican Assemblywoman Marilyn C. Brewer’s qualifications to hold the Irvine-based seat. He said he did that in the hope of convincing Rems to abort a challenge against the incumbent.

State law prohibits legislative staffers and other public employees from participating in campaign-related political activity during the workday while collecting a paycheck from the taxpayers. Violators face civil penalties.

State employees routinely take vacation days while working on campaigns or performing other political functions that are apart from their normal policy duties for lawmakers.

Flint did not return repeated phone calls to his home and office Friday, but Pringle said his chief of staff talked with Rems after his workday was over and is innocent of any violation.

Rems has said that he had his conversation with Flint sometime after 4 p.m., as he pulled paperwork at the the registrar of voters office, which closes at 5 p.m.

“I cannot recall a day when Jeff Flint was not at my office by 8 a.m.,” Pringle said. “Because he talked to someone at 5 p.m., I don’t think there’s any conflict whatsoever.”

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Pringle also said that he is scrupulous about insisting that his employees take vacation time whenever they are performing political or campaign work. He also suggested that the flap over Flint is being blown out of proportion by political enemies seeking to injure Pringle as he heads toward a showdown with Speaker Brian Setencich, a Republican freshman from Fresno, over the Assembly leadership next month.

“We are approaching a very significant change in the way the Assembly is run,” Pringle said. “My opponents--be they Democrats or those who don’t want a conservative Republican at the helm of the Assembly--are taking aim. And the press is very eager to write about every issue that’s brought to their attention. So I’m prepared and I’m telling my staff to be prepared for a lot more of this magnified attention.”

But Pringle’s foes were quick to blast both the lawmaker and Flint, suggesting the appearance of a bald violation of the law.

“What we have are a group of people who feel that they have absolute power,” said Jim Toledano, Orange County Democratic chairman. “They are not answerable to anybody and are not bound by laws or common decency. They simply figure what they want is power; the road to power goes through and over other people and laws and that’s the way [they] will go.”

Flint took a leave of absence without pay from Pringle’s office beginning in August to help run the successful recall effort against former Assembly Speaker Doris Allen, the Cypress Republican who was ousted from office Nov. 28.

But records show he returned to his job with Pringle on Nov. 29, the day after the recall--and the same day he spoke with Rems over a cellular phone as the prospective Assembly candidate pulled the nomination papers needed to file for a run for office.

Rems has said he was “badgered” by a man--later identified as another Pringle aide, Mark Denny--who subsequently demanded that he talk to Flint on a cellular telephone he was carrying.

The man “bumped” him several times while he was at the counter and “shoved the cellular phone in my face,” Rems said. On the line was Flint, who demanded that he not run for the office, telling him, “We will do everything in our power to make sure Marilyn Brewer wins that race,” Rems asserts.

Rems has filed a complaint with the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors confirm that they spoke with Rems and are reviewing the allegations.

In an interview earlier this week, Flint denied threatening Rems, suggesting instead that he attempted to set him straight on Brewer’s record as a conservative. Rems said he believes Brewer is not conservative enough to represent the district.

Denny has refused to comment on the episode. It is unclear whether he was working on state time while he monitored activities at the registrar of voters office on behalf of Pringle.

But after Pringle’s office was contacted by a Times reporter Wednesday afternoon about Rems’ allegations, a memorandum was sent by facsimile to Assembly officials who handle payroll, asking that a correction be made for the pay period of Nov. 16-30.

The memorandum, which was obtained from a source in the Republican caucus, does not spell out specific changes. But a summary of Denny’s recent employment history compiled by the Assembly Rules Committee, which oversees operation of the lower house, notes that a correction was made to the number of hours Denny reported taking off during the month.

Although the memo listed Pringle as its author, the lawmaker was in Northern California the evening it was faxed from his Garden Grove district office. Pringle said he was unaware of the memo.

“I need to look into that,” he said Friday. “I’m not aware of a memorandum changing the payroll.”

The state law against participating in campaign activities during working hours while on the taxpayer payroll specifies that the time must be substantial enough to result in a gain or advantage for the employee or a loss to the state for which a monetary value may be estimated.

A conviction can result in a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each day a violation occurs, plus three times the value of the unlawful use of state resources.