Republican Leadership Is Behind Baugh 100% . . . But Just in Case . . .

That wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement last week of Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) by his leader, Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove); and it has led to more talk about Republican opposition to Baugh’s candidacy in the fall.

Pringle told the press at a brown-bag lunch that while he backs Baugh for reelection, he has contingency plans in case a jury convicts him. Pringle did not defend Baugh’s innocence, though he did say he would not “deem [Baugh] guilty until a jury does.”

Baugh faces trial in late August on four felony perjury counts and 18 misdemeanor violations of campaign finance laws in connection with alleged concealing and misreporting of tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and loans.

Haydee V. Tillotson, who was persuaded two weeks before election day last year to withdraw from her run against Baugh in the 67th Assembly District, has been fuming for months at being made a bridesmaid by party officials. She has previously called Baugh a “liar,” and now says she is seriously considering running in November as a write-in candidate.

“Many people have approached me and are encouraging me,” she said late last week. “It is an uphill battle and a difficult way to get elected.”

Tillotson, who spent about $350,000 in the fall and finished far behind Baugh and Democrat Linda Moulton-Patterson, said she has told Pringle, “I am thinking about a write-in candidacy. There was no commitment from his side one way or the other.”

A spokesman for Baugh dismissed Tillotson. She “is not a particularly strong candidate and running as a write-in against an incumbent Republican is not going to work.”

Gary Foster, Pringle’s spokesman, said the speaker hasn’t drawn up any sort of list of possible replacement candidates who could step into the fray, if Baugh were to be convicted.

“I really don’t think there’s any names out there at all,” he said.

Because the filing period for write-ins opens Sept. 9 and closes Oct. 22, Tillotson said she would not wait for an outcome of a trial to make a decision. Few in the legal community think the Aug. 26 trial date will stick, though. One legal authority noted that Baugh is likely to move to dismiss the indictments and an appeal would easily push the start of the case into mid-October or beyond.

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Friends Indeed: Once again, Speaker Pringle has proved his devotion to his longtime friend, Garden Grove Councilman Mark Leyes. Last week, Pringle named Leyes to the California Council of Criminal Justice, the primary advisory board to the Legislature on crime-prevention policies.

Of the five Pringle appointees to the board, which approves the expenditure of all federal funds received by the state’s Office of Criminal Justice Planning, Leyes is one of the few who does not have criminal justice experience. He fills a slot designated for a local government representative.

Despite that gap in Leyes’ resume, officials in the speaker’s office say he will be an important addition to the crime panel. “Mark Leyes has had a keen interest in criminal justice issues for a number of years and will be a valuable member,” said Gary Foster, Pringle’s spokesman.

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Heating up: The 3rd District supervisorial race between Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) and Deputy Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer is turning into a hot war even as the summer doldrums are setting in.

Mark Thompson, political consultant for Conroy, last week revealed that part of the Conroy campaign message will be to attack Spitzer as a closet Democrat who is not conservative enough for the district.

“What I think is interesting is Harvey Englander, who quit the Republican Party and went back to the Democrats, is helping Spitzer,” Thompson said. “It is very fitting that he and Spitzer are together, since Spitzer worked previously for Art Torres, the current chairman of the state Democratic Party.”

The combative Thompson also pointed out that Englander had taken the political consulting job with Spitzer for free.

Englander, who represents a number of Republicans, acknowledged the no-fee arrangement, adding that Spitzer is a tough negotiator, something the Board of Supervisors desperately needs. The feisty Englander said his firm would be getting a commission on media and mail and “a bonus when we win.”

Englander also concluded that his own party affiliation “is not relevant. What is relevant is that Mark Thompson’s candidate has been found to be guilty by his colleagues of sexual harassment.” The Rules Committee found last year that Conroy had violated the Assembly rules on sexual harassment. He faces a civil suit by a former employee over the issue. He denies the charge.

Spitzer, who acknowledged Thursday that he worked for Torres in the mid-1980s, said he left the staff job after six months because “I was not ideologically in line with him.”

Spitzer, a Brea-Olinda Unified School District trustee, added, “The people do not want Mickey Conroy, but they don’t know who Todd Spitzer is. . . . My campaign is about meeting people and letting them know who I am.”

Conroy could not be reached for comment.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

* Today: Reception for Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) at 2 p.m. with the Newport Harbor Republican Assembly. Information: (714) 645-9127.

* Monday: Fund-raiser for Supervisor Jim Silva hosted by George Argyros at 5:30 p.m. at Arnel Development, 950 South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa. Information: (714) 434-5074.

* Tuesday: Costa Mesa Republican Women Federated luncheon at a private residence in Huntington Beach. Information: (714) 546-6910.

* Wednesday: Fund-raiser at 5:30 p.m. in Anaheim for Democrat Audrey Gibson, who is running in the 68th Assembly District. Information: (714) 899-0725.

* Thursday: Fund-raiser for Secretary of State Bill Jones at Antonello Ristorante, 1611 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana, at 5:30 p.m. Information: (714) 540-0461.

* Thursday: Fund-raiser for Anaheim Councilman Tom Tait at the White House Restaurant, 887 S. Anaheim Blvd., at 5:30 p.m. Speakers are Sen. John Lewis (R-Orange) and Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove).

Compiled by Times political writer Peter M. Warren, with contributions from staff writers Eric Bailey and Greg Hernandez.

Politics ’96 appears every Sunday. Items can be mailed to Politics ‘96, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or faxed to (714) 966-7711.