It's a strange complaint: A candidate for one of the most important

offices in L.A. County cries foul because his political affiliation is revealed in

robocalls to voters. Registered Republican and District Attorney Steve

Cooley isn't merely complaining, however — his office is investigating

the person or group behind the calls that were made during 2008's

nonpartisan race for District Attorney. Incumbent Cooley won a third

term with 65 percent of the vote but now, according to a Jack Leonard

story in today's L.A. Times, his prosecutors are tracking down what Cooley campaign manager John Thomas calls “a dirty trick.”

Albert Robles

Albert Robles

On

the one hand the story shows how radioactive the Republican

Party is in Los Angeles — it's not as though Cooley had been outed as a

Communist or member of the States' Rights Party. On the other hand, it

demonstrates once more how insidious robocalls, especially those made

by shell groups, can be. This one, writes Leonard, was set up by Conrad

Braun, a convicted blackmailer who spent time in federal prison for

fraud. Braun claims he ran the calls once he got a little envelope with

$2,800 in bills in it for an anonymous emailer whom Braun assumed was a

Cooley supporter. On the surface the ads sounded as though they were

pro-Cooley — except that they kept reminding the listener that Cooley

is a Republican.

Cooley has “recused” himself from the

investigation, but his prosecutors are busy looking into the case,

since state law requires such campaign ads reveal their purchasers. At

the moment no one's pointing any fingers, but they're all looking in

the direction of defeated D.A. candidate Albert Robles. Not only was Robles

facing misdemeanor charges during the campaign for illegally sending

out mailers during a previous municipal election, but it turns out Braun was his

robocall guy and pollster during his losing race with Cooley.

Those old charges against Robles were dismissed and he currently serves as president of board of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. Another possible hint that Robles may have been behind the robocalls: Prior to the June, 2008 election, he wrote a letter to the Times protesting its endorsement of Cooley. Among his own qualifications, wrote Robles: “I am the only Democrat in the race.”

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