County Holds Off Suit Against Campbell

The county counsel’s office delayed filing a lawsuit Tuesday to recover damages from spoiler Democratic candidate Laurie Campbell after an attorney representing her told officials the $42,000 debt might be paid in the next several weeks.

County Counsel Laurence M. Watson said his office was prepared to file the suit but postponed it after attorney Gregory Rizio telephoned.

“The lawyer said, in effect, that if you wait, hold off for a couple of weeks, you might get paid without having to file suit,” said Deputy County Counsel Edward Duran, who is handling the case.

Rizio, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, told county attorneys he represented Campbell on the matter. Campbell’s civil attorney, Michael Rothschild, declined comment. Her criminal counsel, Bob Chatterton, said he had no knowledge of the overture.

Watson said his office would hold off filing the suit perhaps until the end of the month. “What we are told to do is recover the cost to the county,” he said. “If we can do it and save the county the expenses of filing suit, we owe it to the county to wait.”

Campbell’s short-lived candidacy is at the heart of an investigation into election fraud in last year’s special election in the 67th Assembly District, during which Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) was recalled and succeeded by Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach).

The probe has resulted in guilty pleas by three GOP campaign workers for fraudulently circulating Campbell’s nominating papers and the indictment of three others, including Baugh, on felony charges.

Campbell, a newcomer to Orange County politics, was removed from the ballot a month before the Nov. 28 special election when a Sacramento Superior Court judge determined she had filed falsified nominating petitions. In testimony to a grand jury, Campbell said she was recruited to run by Republican operatives and Baugh. It was a part of a plan to siphon votes from another Democratic candidate, others have testified.

The Board of Supervisors in January authorized county attorneys to file suit to recover $42,000 from Campbell for the cost of reprinting ballots and other election material after Campbell was thrown off the ballot.

In their testimony to the grand jury, Campbell and her husband, Kendrick, said they were concerned about how they would pay mounting legal bills and other debts such as the county’s expenses for the election material.

Laurie Campbell testified that Baugh and Jim Righeimer, campaign chairman for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), assured her that her legal bills would be taken care of. Baugh also told her that any liability to the county would also be covered, Campbell testified.