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MyspaceSteve Pappas’s contest of the November election has been put on hold for two weeks after news that the mother of his opponent’s attorney has passed away.
Doreen Farr, who won the November election by 806 votes, is being represented by Santa Monica-based attorney Fred Woocher, whose mother passed away this week.
Paul Wellman (file)
Fred Woocher
Thus, the contest to the election won’t reconvene until March 11 in Judge William McLafferty’s courtroom, where Pappas attorney Jeffrey Lake will continue to call witnesses. So far Lake has called County Elections Office staff to testify as to general procedures, but he is expected to start calling participants in registration drives that took place leading up to the election.
Pappas is contesting the votes in the 18 precincts in UCSB and Isla Vista that held registration drives, Lake has said, that are at the center of the controversy. Lake said he intends to prove that as a result, voter fraud was committed. It will be up to the judge to determine which votes should be counted and which should not, and Pappas has a long way to go to overturn the results of the election.
Farr, meanwhile, is getting comfortable on the fourth floor of the County Administration Building. She just sat through her eighth meeting as a representative of the 3rd District, and she recently reopened an office in Solvang and will be reopening one in Isla Vista that her predecessor, Brooks Firestone, didn’t use.
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Comments
Condolences should go out to Mr. Woocher and his family.
Meanwhile, the delay should give Mr. Pappas time to reflect on his case. From his lawyer's opening argument that voting is a PRIVILEGE not a right, Pappas' case has gone downhill.
His lawyer has lost every motion. Two of his main arguments were dismissed by the judge. A third argument, that 2,000 registrations went unverified, was completely rebutted by testimony and evidence.
Voters are getting the idea that Pappas' case is really about spending money to intimidate voters from voting for fear of facing a subpoena, and intimidate candidates from running, for fear of post-election legal bills.
Mr. Pappas will learn that voters and candidates are made of sterner stuff as Pappas' case and reputation goes down in flames.
Richard_Saunders (anonymous profile)
February 27, 2009 at 8:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)