Leader in Allen Recall Pleads Guilty to Vote Fraud

The campaign manager for the recall of Assemblywoman Doris Allen pleaded guilty Monday to taking part in a Republican effort to manipulate the ballot in last year’s 67th District election, becoming the second GOP worker to be convicted in the election fraud case.

Jeffrey Christopher Gibson, 24, admitted that he and an aide to Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle gathered signatures in Garden Grove on Sept. 21 to foster the candidacy of decoy Democrat Laurie Campbell.

The Nov. 28 election was pivotal for the GOP. Assemblyman Scott Baugh, a Huntington Beach Republican, won and succeeded Allen, who was recalled in the same election. Baugh’s election and Allen’s ouster gave Republicans enough votes to take control of the Assembly. With Baugh providing the winning margin, Pringle was elected speaker in January.

Gibson also admitted Monday that he and Pringle aide Mark Denny joined Campbell and an aide to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) at the registrar of voters’ office later on Sept. 21, where they turned over the petitions to Campbell. They then watched as Campbell filed them and falsely swore that she had circulated them, Gibson said.

Gibson pleaded guilty in Municipal Court to a single misdemeanor--fraudulently making a nomination paper--and agreed to cooperate with the district attorney’s investigation of wrongdoing in the 67th District campaign.

Last week, Baugh campaign worker Richard Martin pleaded guilty to participating in the Republican scheme to plant the decoy Democrat.