Fullerton City Council District 4 candidate Scott Markowitz pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 21, to violating California election law by making a false affidavit, the Orange County District Attorney’s office announced.
Last week, DA investigators arrested Markowitz and charged him with two felonies related to falsifying nomination paperwork. The felony charges against Markowitz have been dismissed, according to court records.
Markowitz pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count and will receive one day in jail, one year of probation and 160 hours of community service.
Candidates for Fullerton City Council must obtain 20 signatures on nomination paperwork to qualify for the ballot. Anyone over the age of 18 can circulate the nomination paperwork, but the person signing the filing paperwork attesting that they were the circulator must be the same person who witnessed the signatures in person.
DA investigators said Markowitz did not personally witness all the signatures on his nomination paperwork although he attested that he personally had witnessed them.
Markowitz, nor the attorney listed as his representative, could be immediately reached on Monday for comment.
Ballots with Markowitz’s name as a candidate have already been mailed out to Fullerton voters. He is one of four candidates running for the District Four seat; Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo, Jamie Valencia and Linda Whitaker are also on the ballot.
This is a developing story and will be updated. Check back soon for more details.
