Candidate’s criminal history becomes public

CITY HALL — The campaign battle between incumbent City Councilman John Drayman and gadfly Mike Mohill has taken a turn downhill — with both candidates letting the mud fly during council meetings in recent weeks.

Mohill has repeatedly accused Drayman of fraud related to home renovations performed by subcontractors of Advanced Development & Investment Inc. — now under federal investigation for alleged fraud allegations.

In response, Drayman on Tuesday went public with Mohill’s two convictions for lewd conduct from the 1980s and a more recent trespassing conviction.

Mohill was arrested and charged in 1987 and again in 1988 for soliciting or engaging in lewd conduct in a public place, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records. He pleaded no contest on both counts and was sentenced to pay a fine and serve probation each time.

More recently, Mohill was convicted in 2006 of trespassing on private property in Glendale, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records. A related charge for trimming a protected oak tree without a permit was dismissed.

Mohill declined to comment on Wednesday, saying he was still preparing a public response.

During the public comment portion of the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Drayman said the trespassing incident stemmed from Mohill “hacking up a protected oak tree in his neighbor’s yard” and displayed several pictures from the dais of Mohill near the tree.

City officials said Wednesday that there were no records of Mohill receiving a citation for violating the city’s protected tree ordinance. Court records show that a charge related to illegal tree trimming was dismissed.

“Ethics, character, yes they count. I have them. You need to learn them,” Drayman said in addressing Mohill, who was in the audience.

After detailing Mohill’s criminal history, Drayman acknowledged that he found his own mudslinging “detestable.”

“I hate this, but I’m not going to sit up here and be a punching bag…” Drayman said. “I’m going to take you down if you come here and just blatantly make up stories out of whole cloth.”