Asking Capizzi to Give Up Office

* In my role as the chairman of the California Republican Party, I want to respond to two recent sets of letters that were critical of the refusal of the Republican Party to grant any special treatment to Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi [at the party’s September convention in Anaheim].

These actions were not arbitrary, but rather were based upon formal and detailed findings made by the party at the February annual convention after full opportunity for discussion and debate.

The Republican Party found that Capizzi failed to carry out his legally mandated obligations and as a result failed to take action toward the prevention of Orange County’s bankruptcy, despite an alarming audit by Auditor-Controller Steven E. Lewis and warning letters from our current Orange County Treasurer John Moorlach.

Capizzi also was found to have wasted millions of taxpayers’ dollars on politically motivated prosecutions that were summarily dismissed as improper because of misconduct by his office. They included prosecutions of two county supervisors that were dismissed by the appellate court as outside his powers and the prosecution of an assemblyman that was thrown out by Orange County Superior Court Judge James L. Smith for abuse of the grand jury process.

Finally, the California Republican Party found strong evidence of selective prosecution, abuse of prosecutorial powers and violation of individual civil rights. Based upon this, the party condemned Capizzi’s actions and urged that he resign.

These were extraordinary detailed and damning findings. It is also significant that of the 1,625 delegates, not a single delegate came to the floor at our February 1997 convention and voted no. this unanimous denunciation of Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi was not only justified, but overwhelming.

MICHAEL SCHROEDER

Chairman

California Republican Party

Santa Ana

* It is not surprising that Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) was educated at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University (Oct. 19). Is that where this “lifelong Baptist” learned to “do unto others before they do it to you”?

JUNE MAGUIRE

Mission Viejo