Trial begins for ex-O.C. assessor charged with filing false election papers

Trial began Thursday for former Orange County Assessor Webster Guillory, who is facing two misdemeanor counts of filing false nomination papers for his failed reelection bid.

The case against Guillory, a Newport Beach resident, focuses on a March 7, 2014, campaign filing deadline. On that day, prosecutors say, Guillory had two associates help him quickly gather the required 20 nominating signatures from registered voters so he could appear on the June ballot.

State law requires those who collect the signatures to sign forms saying they witnessed the process. Instead, Guillory signed the forms himself, prosecutors say.

Guillory, 71, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. In a previous hearing, his attorneys argued that Guillory signed the documents in error.

The Orange County district attorney’s office originally charged Guillory with three felonies, but the charges were reduced to two misdemeanors after a judge threw out the original complaint at a preliminary hearing.

Guillory was the county assessor from 1998 until last year, when he lost a November runoff election to challenger Claude Parrish.