Candidate Madison presses on despite questions about his background

Questions remain concerning a Laguna Beach City Council candidate’s claims about his college education and professional background, but Jon Madison has done nothing illegal, officials said.

The Orange County district attorney’s office will not pursue criminal charges against Madison, chairman of the city’s Heritage Committee, related to unverified statements about his background, according to an Oct. 7 letter from the D.A. to City Atty. Phil Kohn.

“After having reviewed relevant City Council candidate documents and applications for City Council-appointed committees, we have determined that there is no evidence of criminal activity,” says the letter, signed by Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Mestman.

Madison came under scrutiny last month when the Orange County Register reported that he might have falsified biographical information on his campaign website. Madison claimed to have degrees from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and the UCLA School of Law.

Representatives from both universities told the Coastline Pilot that they have no record of Madison’s attendance.

On Wednesday, Madison refused another request from the Coastline Pilot asking to verify the information, calling the allegations “dirty politics” and suggesting focus be placed on other city issues.

“People are feeding other people’s stories,” Madison said by phone. “I want to see all the other candidates’ birth certificates and their transcripts. This is unfair, and people know it’s unfair.”

Madison said he was born in 1957 at New York Presbyterian Hospital in an emailed statement earlier this month.

His California voter registration information, though, lists two birth dates: Jan. 29, 1953 and Jan. 29, 1954.

Madison attributed the voter registration confusion to a “clerical error.”

“I hope intelligent and open-minded voters will understand that a cross-country move in my young adult life, a deplorable and thorough identify theft by someone I once trusted, a clerical error on my voter registration record and university records departments that lost track of me all combined to make it appear, with an assist from an opponent, that I deliberately misled the very people I am asking to entrust me with a public office,” Madison said in an emailed statement on Sept. 30.

When asked to explain the identity theft, Madison said a man he had dated tampered with his credit rating after a breakup.

“Not every split-up ends in a nice, cordial way,” Madison said.

Madison did not go into as much detail about his background in his candidate statement filed with the City Clerk’s office as he did on his campaign website.

In his statement, Madison calls himself a local business owner — he oversees the Madison Square & Garden Cafe along Coast Highway — and refers to his role on the Heritage Committee. There is nothing about earning the university degrees.

His campaign website says he was born in New York City, graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and went to Cornell University.

The website goes on to say that Madison earned multiple degrees in plant physiology and horticulture, as well as in landscape architecture and urban planning.

Information on a campaign website or brochure is considered advertising, and Madison would be protected under his free-speech rights, California Fair Political Practices Commission spokesman Jay Wierenga wrote in an email.

Wierenga added that the commission usually deals with campaign finance reporting and conflict of interest, not advertising content or claims.

Supporters, such as Laguna Beach Books owner Jane Hanauer, are standing by Madison, who is noted for hosting numerous fundraisers for charitable organizations.

“He’s a great community guy,” Hanauer said. “I’ve seen what Jon has done and it’s terrific.”

Councilman Kelly Boyd, while lauding Madison’s contributions on the Heritage Committee and his community service, said he’s changed his tune since the allegations emerged.

“I support everything he’s done for the community ... but without seeing the documents I’m having a hard time putting my name as a supporter,” Boyd said.

Madison is pressing on with the election less than three weeks away, joking that from now on he will call himself a “kindergarten graduate.”

“I’m mad at the situation,” he said. “I’m tired of trying to defend things. I want the right to stick to the issues. I work hard, play well with others, and am passionate about the city in which I live and work.”