Baugh Troubles Incite Flurry of Campaigning

Last week’s indictment of Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) has sparked vigorous last-minute campaigning among contenders in the 67th District GOP primary, including a leaflet distribution by the Baugh camp attacking prosecutors and two mailers from opponent Cecilia L. Age questioning the assemblyman’s honesty.

Age reported receiving an additional $9,000 in loans and donations to her campaign, which she is using to fund phone banks and mailers, according to campaign finance papers filed in recent days.

The frantic election-eve scramble came as candidates positioned themselves to take advantage of--or counter--fallout from the felony indictments against the freshman legislator, who is charged with campaign law violations stemming from the special election last fall in which he captured his seat.

Age, a Cypress councilwoman, and Barbara A. Coe, an activist who supported Proposition 187, are challenging Baugh for the GOP nomination in the 67th Assembly District today.

Age, whose campaign strategy has always been partially based on Baugh’s legal troubles, managed to put together her mailers and have one of them arrive in parts of the district Saturday. The mailers include news headlines and a cartoon showing a broom sweeping out three characters in prison suits.

“When I got into the race . . . I knew that I was up against the party-backed incumbent and I knew the money and endorsements wouldn’t be there,” Age said. “My purpose was simply . . . to be at the right place at the right time, should Scott be indicted or if he resigned. I wanted to be in a position where I would be able to give the voters . . . a good solid choice.”

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), Baugh’s political mentor, went on the offensive on Baugh’s behalf against Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi over the weekend. At his own expense, Rohrabacher had leaflets distributed at churches and homes Saturday and Sunday.

Capizzi “is engaged in a corrupt political maneuver to steal the election,” Rohrabacher wrote in words that mirrored a news conference he held Saturday with Baugh. “That the charges were made so close to the time of voting is a tip-off that powerful interests are out to steal this election.”

Coe, meanwhile, repeated a call for Baugh’s withdrawal from the race, but continued to depend on volunteer-run phone banks and precinct walking. Coe already had put out one districtwide mailer, but her funding did not rise with Baugh’s troubles, she said. Coe has raised about $25,000, according to campaign reports.

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In Sacramento, Assembly Democratic leader Richard Katz said Monday that Democrats are considering whether to ask the Assembly to investigate Baugh’s activities once the criminal investigation is completed.

Before a grand jury indicted Baugh last week, Pringle announced he would form an Ethics Committee to investigate and hear testimony on wayward Assembly members. On Monday, Katz said Baugh’s acts of alleged wrongdoing should be examined as a “good first step of the ethics committee,” but noted that Pringle so far had not selected its members.

The implication was that any examination of Baugh by the committee could be politically damaging to Pringle, possibly further jeopardizing his future as speaker. The Baugh episode already has the potential to distract Pringle from duties such as fund-raising that assure his continued leadership.

“We’ll give him a period of time and assume he’ll make the appropriate appointments,” Katz said.

Baugh was indicted last week on four felonies, including falsifying campaign reports and persuading another person to commit perjury. He also was charged with 18 misdemeanors for allegedly concealing or misreporting the source of campaign funds and loans.

Baugh could not be reached for comment Monday. But his political consultant, Dave Gilliard, said the indictment hit too late for Baugh to respond with mailers of his own.

“We were surprised at that timing of the indictment,” Gilliard said. “Even if I had $100,000 in the bank there was not a heck of a lot to do with it. There was no time for direct mail, where you spend most of your money. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we did enough before then.”

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Baugh has sent out two campaign mailers and several Assembly-paid letters to constituents during the campaign, and has received thousands of dollars of support in mailers put together by several independent committees or slates of candidates.

Baugh reported raising about $65,000 during the campaign, $9,000 of it in the past two weeks. The assemblyman has run up a campaign debt of at least $20,000 in the current campaign, on top of a $140,000 debt left over from last fall’s race, according to campaign statements.

In his letter, Rohrabacher attacks the Irvine Co. The congressman takes credit for thwarting the developer’s attempted land swap involving the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, and says the indictment of Baugh “could well be payback” for that.

Capizzi rejected that charge Monday. “I have heard that [story],” he said. “I don’t know anything about it.”

Larry Thomas, Irvine Co. spokesman, said, “I think the congressman has been smoking that funny weed again.” The Irvine Co. has given Baugh donations totaling $6,000 in the past six months.

“Scott Baugh has told us he doesn’t believe that conspiracy theory,” said Thomas, adding the company has supported Baugh in two elections. “It absolutely makes no sense if we were upset with Dana Rohrabacher that we would seek to have anything done to Scott Baugh.”

Times staff writer Max Vanzi and correspondent Jeff Kass contributed to this report.