Democrats Seek to Present Pringle’s Past

A notorious political stunt 10 years ago in Orange County could come back to haunt Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) in his bid to become the next state treasurer.

At a Sacramento news conference last week, state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) accused Pringle of attempting to mislead voters about his involvement in placing GOP security guards at predominately Latino polling places.

State Democratic Party official Bob Mulholland said the party intends to remind voters in coming weeks about Pringle’s role in the controversy. A Democratic mailer, headlined “A Story of Scandal,” began arriving in mailboxes last week.

Some history: In 1988, Pringle’s Assembly campaign and the Orange County Republican Party stationed uniformed security guards at 20 polling places in Santa Ana. They claimed the guards were there to dissuade illegal immigrants from voting.

Many of the guards had signs that read in English and Spanish: “Noncitizens can’t vote.” Some guards asked voters for identification; one was photographed handling ballots. The county GOP and Pringle eventually settled a civil-rights lawsuit for $400,000.

During a debate earlier this month with Phil Angelides, his Democratic rival for the treasurer’s seat, Pringle laid blame for the guards on the county GOP and said he “didn’t approve of it at the time.”

“I spoke out against it after it happened, when I became aware of it,” Pringle said during the debate at KVIE-TV Channel 6 in Sacramento.

But on election day in 1988, Pringle said he knew there would be poll watchers in Santa Ana but didn’t approve of them being in uniform. He said later in a television interview that he was “very satisfied with the way things turned out.”

In a civil court deposition a year later, Pringle said it was “inappropriate” to have used uniformed guards. He also asserted his constitutional right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions, citing an ongoing investigation by the Orange County district attorney’s office. No criminal charges were filed.

Mulholland said the Democratic Party will remind voters of another election scandal involving Pringle, this one stemming from a crucial 1995 election that led to Pringle becoming Assembly speaker.

In that case, four GOP aides pleaded guilty to violating campaign laws for placing a decoy Democratic candidate on the ballot. Two of them worked for Pringle. Former Pringle Chief of Staff Jeff Flint, now managing the treasurer campaign, also was named an unindicted co-conspirator by prosecutors, and refused to answer questions under oath.

Flint said last week that Democrats are getting desperate because Angelides trails Pringle in statewide polls.

He said Democrats are hurt more by President Clinton’s refusal to answer certain questions before grand jurors in his sex scandal involving former White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky.

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Bankruptcy redux: Fourth District supervisorial candidate Lou Lopez is hoping to taint his runoff rival Cynthia P. Coad with the sins of disgraced former Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron.

Lopez says Coad, a North Orange County Community College District board member during the county’s historic 1994 bankruptcy, cheated taxpayers by failing to disclose that the district was borrowing money to put into Citron’s risky investments.

Lopez cited a recent Securities and Exchange Commission action against several cities and school boards, including Coad’s college district. The SEC said that without proper disclosure, the cities and the boards pumped a combined $508 million in bond funds straight into Orange County’s treasury in hopes of a quick profit.

“[Coad] does not know how to manage money,” Lopez said. “If she can’t handle that at the college board level, how does she expect to handle a $3-billion budget at the county?”

But Coad defended her record, saying that she was the only board member to write a letter questioning Citron on his investment practices before the bankruptcy occurred. Her board was the only entity that recovered its debt entirely--more than $13 million--thanks in part to her efforts, she said.

“I have happy taxpayers,” Coad said. “I guess [Lopez] is just trying to use intimidation tactics.”

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On the air: Democratic congressional candidate Patricia W. Neal is taking on incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) in a series of cable television advertisements.

The first ad faults Rohrabacher for voting against bills that would have provided more funds for Medicare and Social Security and for hiring more teachers. It claims the incumbent’s campaign is “funded by the tobacco companies and the NRA,” the National Rifle Assn. The second ad cites Rohrabacher’s opposition to abortion and his past admission of youthful drug use.

Rohrabacher Chief of Staff Rick Dykema said his boss isn’t planning to respond with cable ads of his own. The Rohrabacher camp is confident of reelection because of the district’s heavy Republican voter registration.

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Upcoming events:

* Monday: Republican Central Committee general meeting, 7 p.m., Westin South Coast Plaza hotel, 686 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa. Information: (714) 556-8555.

* Wednesday: Debate between Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and Democratic challenger Patricia W. Neal, 11 a.m., Golden West College student center, Huntington Beach. Information: (714) 895-8261.

* Saturday: Women For: Orange County will sponsor a candidate forum at 9:30 a.m. at the Rancho Senior Center, 3 Sandburg Way, Irvine. More than 20 candidates will attend from races around the county. Information: (949) 854-8024.

* Saturday: Meet Democratic candidates from the 68th, 69th and 71st Assembly districts, the 34th state Senate District and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) from 5 to 8 p.m. in Cowan Heights. Suggested donation is $10. Directions: (714) 771-6494.

Compiled by staff writer Jean O. Pasco, who covers politics for The Times, with contributions from staff writer Lorenza Munoz. Pasco can be reached at (714) 966-7712 or by e-mail at Jean.Pasco@latimes.com. Information can be faxed to Campaign Journal at (714) 966-7711.