Exit Dave left

Danette Goulet

He was the quintessential politician. Active at St. Bonaventure Church

and in countless civic organizations, he served on numerous boards, knew

all the right people and their children’snames.

He ruffles tots’ hair in church as he passes the collection basket and

pumps the right hands.

And when he pleaded guilty to 15 misdemeanor charges and one criminal

felony charge last week he properly proclaimed justice served, albeit

harshly.

And to the bitter end Dave Garofalo, former mayor and city councilman,

declares he never meant to break the law.

“I can say this emphatically, without hesitation, those things I’m

accused of -- 15 misdemeanors and one wobbler -- I now understand was a

violation of the 1090 law but never, never was it my intention to break

the law,” he said just minutes before entering his plea of guilty with

the Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.

Garofalo pleaded guilty to criminal charges for repeatedly voting on

matters involving companies that bought advertising from his local

publishing business.

He thanked the judge and the district attorney’s office for bringing

this “vexing situation” to a close.

Garofalo did say he felt he was being dealt with harshly, considering

the “the punitive nature of the charges.”

So punitive were these charges that it is one of the largest conflict

of interest cases ever tried in Orange County and perhaps the state, said

Deputy District Atty. Michael Lubinski, who prosecuted the case.

Garofalo and his attorney Allan Stokke additionally dismissed the 1934

law, which effectively tripped him up, as outdated. Garofalo went so far

as to call it “archaic and ridiculous.”

“I’ve heard him say that -- it’s one of the stupidest reasons I’ve

ever heard from a defendant,” Lubinski said. “Homicide is an old law. The

reason it’s an old law is because people recognized from an early time

that this was wrong, that’s why it’s been on books for so long.”

Having admitted guilt and criticized the law, Garofalo had just a few

more points to make before stepping out of the limelight.

Garofalo said he never would have voted if he had known it was

illegal.

“I had a letter from the city attorney telling me it was OK to

[vote],” he said last week.

With Garofalo’s finger pointed directly at her, City Atty. Gail Hutton

ducked calls to her office this week, instead passing the buck to city

spokesman Rich Barnard.”Any advice given to Mr. Garofalo was based on the

facts as he related them and written fact that he related and actually

initialed, at which time he was advised he should obtain written advice

from the [Fair Political Practices Committee],” Barnard said on Hutton’s

behalf.

Additionally, Garofalo said he was merely following the practices of

his predecessor at both the newspaper and on the City Council, the late

movie actor Jack Kelly.

“What I have been charged with as a violation of the law was commonly

accepted behavior by Jack Kelly without him being accused of the same

1934 1090 criminal law violation,” Garofalo said.

He further suggested that there were other, current council members

whose actions may be questionable under this same law.

Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook who was one of the residents that

prompted the investigation, called his suggestions laughable.

“It’s his continuing failure to admit mistakes -- it’s everyone else’s

fault it’s not his own,” Cook said. “I still to this day, I do not think

he recognizes what he did. I don’t think he has the capability of

understanding this area (of the law.)”

Whether they feel he had it coming or that he was sabotaged, community

members heaved a collective sigh of relief that the nearly two-year

investigation is over at last.

“I feel very badly that this all occurred and it’s very unfortunate

for Dave and the community,” said Ron Shenkman, owner of Rainbow Disposal

in Huntington Beach and a former mayor and councilman. “I just hope he

can recover from all this. I don’t think it will have [a] lasting impact

on the community.”

There are many in the community, like Shenkman, who are glad to have

it done with not just for the sake of the city’s good name, but also for

Garofalo’s sake.

“On the one hand I’m glad it’s over, on the other I don’t really think

he’s been treated fairly by the press or the courts,” said Bill Borden,

longtime friend and staunch supporter of Garofalo. “He had no alternative

but to plead guilty.”

Borden contends that Garofalo was singled out and that it was less a

case of what he did wrong than whose side he was on.

“I don’t know that he did go wrong,” Borden said. “He offended someone

along the way who went after him. I doubt any other businessman would

withstand this kind of scrutiny.”

But others say they know exactly where Garofalo went wrong.

“I think he went wrong if he would have abstained from all those votes

they would have passed anyway,” said Councilman Peter Green, who said he

asked advice on voting practices more than 10 years ago when he was chair

of the Conference and Visitors Bureau board and he was advised to

abstain.

“He was very careless, very careless. And he didn’t want to inform

himself it looks like,” Green added.

Another former councilman, Dave Sullivan, agreed that laws that apply

to voting are very clear.

“It really did not come up [for me] but it’s really clear,” Sullivan

said. “They give you info when you come on the council so I don’t think

it’s a gray area. When you read over the material there is no gray area.”

Sullivan additionally didn’t feel there was any “gray area” as to if

and how he went wrong.

“I think it was quite clear back then and it proved to be true,” he

said.

Some feel Garofalo met his downfall with the best of intentions.

“In trying to accomplish major goals for city I don’t think he paid

enough attention -- I think some shortcuts were taken,” said Councilwoman

Shirley Dettloff. “Maybe he was unaware there were legal questions. He

didn’t pay enough attention to details.”

Friends and foes alike describe Garofalo in terms of his friendly,

jovial personality and agree he wanted to make a difference in the city.

“He wants to please everyone, he wants to be liked and he wants to

make a difference,” Cook said. “He wants everything everyone wants, but

to some degree that can cloud your judgment. You begin to think the end

justifies the means. It’s almost like he forgot.”

While most want this black mark on Huntington’s political record to be

forgotten, the current mayor feels it needs to be remembered.

“I can only hope it would have a positive impact [on the city] a lot

of people just want to move on, but we need to learn from it, analyze

it, where are you going to go from there although I’m not sure that is

going to happen,” Cook said.

It will be difficult to forget in the coming month as the City Council

interviews and ultimately hires a replacement for Garofalo, who stepped

down one week prior to the felony conviction that stipulates he may never

hold public office in California again.

* DANETTE GOULET is the assistant city editor. She can be reached at

(714) 965-7170 or by e-mail at o7 danette.goulet@latimes.comf7 .