Better days for Baugh

Eron Ben-Yehuda

Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) enjoyed remarkable success

this year as criminal charges against him were dismissed and fellow

Republicans named him their leader.

Suspicions that he violated campaign laws had dogged Baugh since his

election in 1995. The state attorney general had filed criminal charges

against him alleging, among other things, that Baugh had illegally

accepted an $8,800 cash contribution and failed to properly report the

source of a $1,000 contribution -- then illegally returned that

contribution in cash. State law forbids cash transactions of $100 or

more.

If convicted, Baugh could have faced time in prison, removal from the

Legislature and loss of his license to practice law. But in March, Atty.

General Bill Lockyer’s office dropped the charges after a key prosecution

witness admitted to lying and an appellate court ruled that a similar

case should not be criminally prosecuted. Baugh’s case was referred to

the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission, which imposed a civil

fine of $47,900, an amount that can be paid out of campaign funds.

In April, Baugh’s political standing rose as his colleagues asked him to

head the minority GOP delegation.

The final feather in his cap may come at the end of his term next year.

His chosen successor, John Righeimer, is in the best position to take

over for him.