Assistant D.A. Romney Wants Top Job

Assistant Dist. Atty. Brent Romney, who is handling the prosecution of Assemblyman Scott R. Baugh on campaign fraud charges, said Tuesday that he intends to run for district attorney next year.

Romney is one of five top assistants to Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi, who is exploring a run for state attorney general in 1998 but has yet to announce his candidacy officially.

Another top prosecutor, Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryan Brown, who had previously announced he would run for district attorney, apparently has decided to drop out of the race. Brown could not be reached for comment, though several colleagues confirmed his decision not to run.

Romney said he decided to enter the race after learning of Brown’s decision. He said he wanted to ensure that the district attorney’s office would continue to make decisions “unfettered by political considerations.”

“I think it is very important that this office be run by a professional prosecutor, not a politician,” he said, adding the top prosecutor in the county should not be “beholden to any political party or any particular individual or organization.”

Romney has been handling the election fraud cases of Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) and GOP aide Rhonda Carmony.

The Carmony trial ended in a hung jury last month. She was charged with three felonies in connection with an attempt to place a decoy candidate on the ballot in a 1995 special election that Baugh won.

Baugh faces a preliminary hearing later this summer on charges that he committed perjury in 1995 and 1996 on financial disclosure statements.

Capizzi has been strongly criticized by several conservative Republican leaders for pressing these cases.

Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Rackauckas Jr. announced earlier this year that he wanted to replace Capizzi and shake up the office.

“My view is that the district attorney’s office is not functioning that well,” said Rackauckas, a former deputy district attorney who has been a judge for seven years. “I don’t think any of the current administration are going to make the appropriate changes.”