OC City Council Candidate Pleads Guilty To Falsifying Documents

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A man who was accused of lying about circulating petitions for his campaign for Fullerton City Council pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 160 hours of community service.

A man accused of lying about circulating petitions for his campaign for Fullerton City Council pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Monday and was sentenced to 160 hours of community service.

Scott Edward Markowitz pleaded guilty to a count of false affidavits. He was sentenced to a day in jail, but had credit for that time. He was placed on one year of informal probation.

As part of the plea deal, felony charges of procuring or offering false or forged documents to be filed, registered or recorded and perjury were dismissed.

Markowitz could not be reached for comment.

Markowitz will remain on the ballot for next month's election, but if he is elected he cannot take office, the according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

The other candidates in the nonpartisan race are Vivian "Kitty" Jaramillo, Jamie Valencia and Linda Whitaker.

City Council candidates must personally collect signatures from voters to get on the ballot and must sign a document verifying they did so, or face perjury charges.

Markowitz signed nomination documents on Aug. 9 that he personally circulated petitions with 30 signatures, prosecutors said. But multiple voters who signed his petition told prosecutors he was not the one who asked them to sign it, prosecutors alleged.