Baugh’s Aide Pleads Guilty on Illegal Vote

Assemblyman Scott Baugh’s chief of staff pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge of voting illegally in a special election that brought her boss to office last year.

Maureen Werft was sentenced by Superior Court Judge James L. Smith to one year of informal probation, fined $2,700 and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.

Werft had faced trial on two felony charges of registering and voting in Orange County’s 67th Assembly District, although she was living and working in Sacramento.

In a plea agreement reached with the district attorney’s office, she admitted voting for Baugh from a Huntington Beach address with which she had had no contact except for eating pizza there one night.

“She’s a nice young woman who got caught up in the moment,” District Attorney Michael R. Capizzi said Friday. The plea agreement “is consistent with someone who is willing to fess up and admit their criminal conduct.”

As part of the agreement, the felony charge of voting illegally was reduced to a misdemeanor, and a felony perjury charge against her was dropped.

“I felt I didn’t have a choice,” she said outside court. “It was this or mortgage my future. I have $80,000 in legal fees. The choice was, ‘Do I want to ruin my future and bankrupt myself or do I want to get on with my life?’ This has just devastated me financially.”

Werft is one of two GOP political aides accused of campaign wrongdoing stemming from last year’s special election won by Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) to replace Cypress Republican Doris Allen, who was recalled the same day.

Rhonda Carmony, a campaign manager for Rep. Dana Rohrbacher (R-Huntington Beach), faces three felony charges that she helped orchestrate the illegal circulation of petitions on behalf of a decoy Democratic candidate in the election.

Baugh also faces felony and misdemeanor charges of alleged campaign finance fraud. Most of the charges allege that the legislator misreported tens of thousands of dollars in campaign loans and contributions during the 1995 special election.

Baugh and Carmony have denied any wrongdoing.

That election was critical to Republicans statewide. When Baugh replaced Allen, it led to the election of Republican Curt Pringle of Garden Grove as speaker of the Assembly. The balance has since shifted back to the Democrats.

Werft will not be forced to testify in the other cases, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Brent Romney.

“The facts underlying this case are separate and distinct, and she was not involved in the petition-gathering process,” Romney said.

Werft’s attorney, Doug Otto, said he did not want his client to enter the guilty plea, which was hammered out behind closed doors throughout the day.

“It was her decision,” Otto said. “I would have loved to take it to trial because I believe she is innocent. But the client always has the final say. I think it is clear that Maureen would not have been prosecuted had she not become Scott Baugh’s chief of staff.”

Otto said he believes Werft was legally eligible to vote in the election because she had lived in the 67th District prior to temporarily moving to Sacramento and intended to move back there when she left her job with the Republican Senate caucus in Sacramento.

Werft said she was simply relieved to put an end to her legal woes.

“This has been horribly hard on my family,” she said. “I’m just looking forward to leaving this all behind.”