Judge Peter Polos of the Orange County Superior Court signed a final order this afternoon denying Luigi Rossetti, Jr’s attempt to be placed on the ballot and in voter guide materials as "Lou Penrose." The Judge found that the name "Lou Penrose" was technically false, and the parties all stipulated to the judge’s tentative ruling that Luigi Rossetti’s ballot name for the upcoming Dana Point Municipal Election shall be listed as: "Lou Penrose, a/k/a Luigi Rossetti, Jr."
A lawsuit was filed by Petitioner Denise Erkeneff of Dana Point after the Registrar of Orange County had allowed the "techically false" name to appear on the ballot. The Registrar stated in a sworn statement that he does not have resources to investigate the truthfulness of proposed ballot names and though he had approved Rossetti’s ballot name as "Penrose," he had advised him by letter to consult a lawyer.
Facts developed in the case established that there was almost no internet or public agency history on "Penrose," but there was ample history on "Rossetti," including extensive evidence of property ownership in Riverside County, business transactions, voting history in two counties, a driving record, and employment history with the U.S. government. Rossetti is employed by Congressman John Campbell’s office as "Luigi Rossetti, Jr.", despite business cards used by the Dana Point candidate in the name of "Lou Penrose," a ficticious name from a radio career at a small radio station in Palm Springs about a decade ago.
Voters have a right to be able to identify their candidates for office. "Lou Penrose" was found to be a faulty ballot name for Rossetti. The logic of the case, as stated before, is that a candidate just can’t make up a convenient name for the ballot, especially one that confuses and diminishes the ability of the voters to research and understand the background and qualifications of their candidates.
A copy of the Judge’s signed Order is attached.
September 5th, 2008 at 12:00 am
I’ll rest better now knowing this Jim.