County Assessor Guillory denies false filing charges

Orange County Assessor Webster Guillory denied charges Monday that he lied when he signed off on documents nominating him for the March 2014 primary as he pursued reelection.

Guillory, 70, of Newport Beach pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of filing false nomination papers during his arraignment in Orange County Superior Court.

Guillory has held his office since 1998, but he is now headed toward a November runoff with challenger Claude Parrish after neither of them received 50% of the vote in March.

To have his name appear on the county assessor ballot, Guillory had to collect 20 valid signatures nominating him for the position.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office alleges Guillory signed two pages of 10 signatures falsely claiming he witnessed their collection when, in reality, it was an associate of Guillory’s who circulated the documents.

Guillory also asked a colleague to falsely sign off on a third page of signatures, according to prosecutors.

If he’s convicted, Guillory could face a sentence ranging from probation to up to four years and four months in jail.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck