Countywide : Deputies Endorse Conroy and Scott

The Orange County Deputy Sheriffs Assn. on Wednesday endorsed Assemblyman Mickey Conroy and Fountain Valley Mayor George B. Scott in the March 26 races for two county supervisor seats.

Tom Giffin, spokesman for the association, said both candidates have experience that can help bring the county out of bankruptcy.

Conroy, a Republican from Orange, has “a broad base of political and government savvy,” Giffin said. Scott understands local government and employs a “straightforward approach,” he said.

The vote of confidence from the leadership of the law enforcement union came despite some criticism of the Conroy campaign from the deputies’ group for claiming in a campaign flier distributed Friday that the group already had endorsed him. Association leaders conducted interviews for the endorsement Wednesday.

Mark Thompson, political consultant for Conroy, said he made the mistake and apologized to the union. “I transcribed that [endorsement] from a donation list,” he said, noting the deputies had given money at a Conroy fund-raiser in October.

Two of Conroy’s supervisorial opponents also continued an attack Wednesday on the Conroy campaign for what they say are flagrant abuses of his Assembly mailing privileges.

Candidates Charles W. “Pete” Maddox and Todd Spitzer contend that an upcoming town hall meeting on veterans affairs organized by Conroy is nothing more than a thinly disguised campaign effort. Assemblymen Richard Ackerman (R-Fullerton) and Jim Morrissey (R-Santa Ana), and retired Marine Col. Jay R. Vargas, director of veterans affairs for the state, are also scheduled to attend.

“I’m gravely offended that Mr. Conroy would exploit veterans to advance his own political future,” said Spitzer, a deputy county district attorney and member of the Brea Olinda school board.

Thompson denied the accusations, saying the gathering is a service to veterans and continues efforts Conroy has made on behalf of constituents throughout his tenure.