Rancho Santa Margarita Mayor Carol Gamble said last week that she took full responsibility for signing the paperwork without having witnessed each signature, a violation of the state’s election code.
The violation could have resulted in a felony perjury charge, according to District Attorney Todd Spitzer, but Gamble negotiated a plea deal that reduced her charges to a misdemeanor. She will not be eligible to serve on the City Council if she is reelected.
City Council candidates are required by law to turn in paperwork with at least 20 signatures from registered voters to qualify for an elected office. The paperwork includes a section where the signature collector must sign under penalty of perjury to attest to the accuracy of the document.
“Because my regrettable error was discovered after the review period, it cannot be fixed,” she wrote in the release. “I am deeply embarrassed, take full responsibility and apologize for my error.”
But the plea deal was made after ballots had already been printed, leaving the possibility that voters could still elect her.
“Although I am hopeful that my statement will help to avoid being elected, should I be elected, I will resign my new City Council seat immediately,” she said. “I am very sorry for my irreversible mistake, and I am at the same time very proud of all that we accomplished by working together.”
Gamble also planned to return all contributions made to her campaign, she said.
According to Spitzer, numerous voters who signed Gamble’s nomination paperwork told district attorney investigators that Gamble was not the person who circulated the paperwork, and she did not witness them signing the nomination papers, which rendered them invalid.
“American democracy relies on the absolute integrity of the electoral process,” Spitzer said in a release posted on his website Wednesday. “Voters must have total confidence that every election is being carried out in a fair and unbiased manner.”
Spitzer also said he refused to allow the electoral process to be “subverted and exploited.”
If voters elect Gamble on Nov. 5, the city could be forced to hold a special election, according to the district attorney.
“The decision to file criminal charges against the candidate prior to an election is not a decision I made lightly, but given the risk to the electoral process as well as the potential of the City of Rancho Santa Margarita having to pay for a special election should Gamble be re-elected, there was no choice but to file criminal charges prior to the election and alert voters of her ineligibility to run for City Council,” Spitzer said.
As part of the plea deal, Gamble has also agreed to do 160 hours of community service, submit her DNA to authorities, serve a one-year probation, and make restitution to the city based on the outcome of the election, Spitzer’s office said in a press release.
Besides owning and running an engineering firm, Gamble helped found Rancho Santa Margarita when it was incorporated as an official city on Jan. 1, 2000, according to her biography on the city’s website.
She was elected Woman of the Year in 2000 by the state Legislature and served for several years as a member of the Orange County Fire Authority. Gamble was one of two conservative incumbents to hold onto their seats in the 2020 election.
A City Council Transition
Rancho Santa Margarita is one of many Southern California cities that recently switched to district voting after activists filed lawsuits to end at-large voting.
The city decided to comply and change to district voting to avoid costly litigation.
Rancho Santa Margarita voters will elect their first council members representing five districts on Nov 5.
