Ex-County Assessor Convicted Of Misdemeanor Election Charges
SANTA ANA (AP) — A former Orange County assessor has been convicted of filing false nomination papers for a primary re-election bid last year.
Webster Guillory faces up to two years in jail and $2,000 in fines for his conviction Wednesday on two misdemeanor counts.
Guillory had pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors say Guillory signed his name on two 10-signature petitions that he did not personally circulate and asked a colleague to falsely sign a third petition in March.
Guillory's lawyer, John Barnett, says the error was clerical, not criminal, and had no bearing on the election.
Guillory had been the county's assessor since 1998 before stepping down last year. The assessor determines the value of properties for tax purposes.
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