Mickey Conroy Berates Rival at GOP Event

State Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange), a candidate for Orange County supervisor, shocked onlookers at a Republican Party headquarters rally this week by making obscene gestures--and some say shouting profanities--at his opponent.

The controversial Conroy, 68, an assemblyman since 1991 who is leaving Sacramento because of term limits, acknowledged that he gave the finger to his rival, Todd Spitzer, a deputy district attorney.

But Conroy said Spitzer, a fellow Republican, deserved it for “spreading innuendoes about Mickey Conroy that are not true.”

At campaign events, Spitzer, 35, has repeatedly referred to Conroy’s upcoming sexual harassment trial, Conroy said. A former legislative intern has said she was fired after complaining that Conroy was forcing her to give him hugs, back rubs and kisses.

Conroy says he is innocent of the charges, but said Spitzer’s constant haranguing about it has upset his wife of 40 years.

“I’m just fed up,” Conroy said. “If he wants to get personal with my wife, then I’m going to get personal with him. We have been married for 40 years. We don’t have to take this stuff.”

Diane Brooks, a candidate for the Saddleback Community College District Board of Trustees, said she was at the opening of the South Orange County Republican Party headquarters Tuesday when the incident occurred. Conroy approached Spitzer shortly after both had addressed the crowd, she said, and Conroy raised both middle fingers at Spitzer and began shouting expletives at him.

“There was Conroy with both fingers up in the air,” said Brooks, 53, of Lake Forest. “I walked away I was so embarrassed. I have no idea why he did it.”

Perhaps an even more flabbergasted onlooker was Emily Sanford of Huntington Beach, the GOP Central Committee’s longtime sergeant at arms. Sanford said she had never seen anything like Conroy’s actions at a party function, but she did not hear the profanity.

“I think it’s unfortunate,” said Sanford, 61. “My concern is that these are two Republicans and I don’t like that kind of behavior.”

If the action had occurred at a county Central Committee meeting, where she is in charge of keeping order, she would have quickly “asked them both to step outside so I could talk to them,” Sanford said.

Spitzer, who is also a trustee for the Brea-Olinda Unified School District, denies that he has paid special attention to the sexual harassment issue. Spitzer said Conroy is getting nervous because he is losing voters.

Some political analysts had predicted that Conroy would win the supervisorial seat in the county’s nonpartisan 3rd District race in the March primary, but the assemblyman was forced into a runoff when he captured only 23% of the vote while Spitzer won 18%. Last Monday, Conroy failed in his attempt to win an endorsement from the county Republican Party. The leadership was split between him and Spitzer.

Spitzer said Conroy, who made national headlines earlier this year for a failed attempt to pass a law that would require paddling of graffiti vandals and misbehaving students, has lost control of himself.

“The guy is going bonkers,” said Spitzer, who filed an unsuccessful complaint with the county party’s ethics committee.

“Within minutes after I spoke, the guy comes up and starts berating me. I’m worried he’s going to have a heart attack,” Spitzer said. “This is just the culmination of the fact that he is realizing the support he is counting on is drying up.”

The complaint, which included Spitzer’s charge that Conroy was pulling down his campaign signs, was rejected Thursday by the ethics committee chair, who said he has no jurisdiction because the race is nonpartisan.