The wolf who guards the sheep

The credibility of election authorities, the idea that they will be fair, impartial and ethical at the polls, is a guarantee that democracy will represent the voice of voters. That matters, except in Orange County.

There, the Board of Supervisors has no problem with Mark Denny, who is now in charge of the Orange County Registrar of Voters, having been convicted in the past of no more and no less than election fraud. This really is putting a fox in charge of guarding the henhouse.

In 1996, when Denny was working for former Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle, he was found guilty, along with other Republican political workers, of trying to deceive voters. They falsely promoted a Democratic candidate in order to create confusion and help the Republican candidate get elected.

This crime can’t be classified as one of the most serious crimes—but it should definitely disqualify him from being in charge of overseeing a clean election. There are surely people with better track records than Denny for this position.

However, the Orange County government is a world unto itself. It is a universe with a reputation—earned during decades of improprieties—for corruption that can only be compared to the worst periods of corruption in New York and Chicago. All according to an Orange County Grand Jury report from last year.

The supervisors, in an act of impunity and arrogance, completely disregarded the Grand Jury’s recommendation to create an Ethics Commission.

It is fine to want to rehabilitate Denny within party ranks and in the government, which is why today he has an important position. What is shameful is that supervising elections has become part of his job.

With this, the authorities are making a mockery of voters and showing contempt for the elections process. This is another example of the Orange government being more committed to a long tradition of political scheming than to transparency. Today, democracy in Orange lives with the track record of Denny, in the shadow of election fraud.