Baugh Admits Error in Finance Reporting

Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) made his first public admission Saturday that “mistakes were made” in his campaign finance reporting for last November’s special election--the subject of an Orange County Grand Jury investigation.

His comments came during the taping of a question-and-answer session among the 67th Assembly District candidates vying for Baugh’s seat in the March 26 election.

“Campaign reporting irregularities are nothing new to the political system,” Baugh said in response to a question from debate moderator Bob Nash about the grand jury investigation.

“It’s happened many times in the past. Some mistakes were made and we’re working through that.”

The moderator asked Baugh to name who was responsible for the “mistakes” in campaign finance reporting.

“At this time, I can’t get into the details,” he said, “but mistakes were made on the campaign reporting. But they’re nothing but that.”

There was little disagreement and few exchanges during what was the first joint public appearance of all three candidates for the 67th Assembly District, which includes Cypress, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos and Seal Beach.

Candidate Barbara Coe, co-author of Proposition 187, said her first priority if elected would be to fight for full implementation of the proposition, which would deny government services and public education to illegal immigrants.

Cypress Councilwoman Cecilia L. Age pledged to downsize government and reduce the power of some state regulatory agencies, such as the Air Quality Management District.

Baugh said his reelection was essential to preserve the new conservative majority in the state Assembly that is working to cut taxes and strengthen criminal penalties.

The debate is scheduled to be broadcast to 100,000 North County households March 9, with subsequent airings leading up to the election.

The highlight of the forum was Baugh’s comments regarding the investigation of the special election.

Baugh has previously declined to talk publicly about the grand jury investigation, referring questions to his attorney. After Saturday’s debate, Baugh declined to talk about the investigation with The Times.

“If you have any questions related to the district attorney’s investigation, you should call the district attorney,” he said.

Baugh is under investigation for campaign reporting irregularities centered on a $1,000 donation made to the Baugh campaign on Sept. 15 by Kendrick Campbell. Kendrick Campbell is the husband of Laurie Campbell, a Democratic challenger removed from the ballot in the Nov. 28 election for falsifying nomination papers. The election was held to replace Assemblywoman Doris Allen, who was recalled in the same election.

The Baugh campaign returned the donation to the Campbells in cash and failed to report the transactions on campaign financial reports issued in October and November. The contribution and its return were listed on an amended report filed by the Baugh campaign a few hours before the polls closed. The state’s Political Reform Act bans individual cash expenditures by a candidate of more than $100.

The grand jury is also looking into accusations by Democrats that one or more Republican legislators tried to put Campbell on the ballot to take votes away from Democratic front-runner Linda Moulton-Patterson.

During the debate taping on Saturday, Baugh acknowledged he is a friend of Campbell, but said he did not ask her to run for Allen’s seat.

“I did not recruit her,” Baugh said. “In fact, I objected to her being on the ballot; I didn’t want her being on the ballot; that was her choice to make.”

Baugh went on the offensive in reaction to questions about the grand jury’s investigation, calling the probe a misuse of public funds.

“There’s a broader issue going on here, of what’s going on in Orange County with the district attorney’s office. We’re trying to come out of the bankruptcy where we lost nearly $2 billion. There’s an inordinate amount of resources being dedicated to an investigation like this,” Baugh said, suggesting that the district attorney’s limited funds would be better spent on the prosecution of violent criminals.