Northern California sheriff charged with voter fraud resigns: Is this a Shell Game?
March 16, 2022: Updated April 25, 2022
CRESCENT CITY, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California sheriff resigned this week after he was accused of filing false voter registration and nomination papers with a nonpermanent address, his attorney said.
Del Norte County District Attorney Katherine Micks on Wednesday charged acting Sheriff Randall Waltz, 62, with perjury, filing false voter registration and false declaration of candidacy — all felonies. He has disputed the allegations, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Waltz, formerly the county’s undersheriff, was appointed sheriff in September after his predecessor suddenly resigned. Waltz announced plans to run in the primary election in June but listed on his voter registration a Smith River address where he did not permanently reside, court documents say.
Randy Waltz: ‘The Vigorous Defense Of These Charges Will Necessarily Detract From My Ability to Perform My Duties’
He also used that address for his Feb. 14 declaration of candidacy, allegedly violating the elections code by falsely stating to meet the “statutory and residency requirements to run for the office of sheriff,” the complaint says.
In his Monday resignation letter to the county’s board of supervisors, Waltz said the Smith River address had been legally secured as his permanent residence before he filed the election paperwork. Waltz also said defending the charges will necessarily detract from his ability to perform his duties as sheriff.
“I had never legally ceased being a resident of this County since the County assisted me in relocating here to ultimately become Sheriff,” he wrote in the letter. Waltz was hired as undersheriff in 2020 after working for the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
Property websites show the address as a furnished rental on U.S. Highway 101 near the Oregon border.
A representative for the district attorney’s office could not be reached Monday evening. An arraignment is scheduled for Waltz later this month.
“I had never legally ceased being a resident of this County since the County assisted me in relocating here to ultimately become Sheriff,” he wrote in his resignation letter addressed to the county’s board of supervisors. Waltz was hired as undersheriff in 2020 after working for the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and as an investigator for the Fresno County district attorney’s office, according to his hiring announcement.
Although Waltz pushed back against the allegations, he said, “the vigorous defense of these charges will necessarily detract from my ability to perform my duties as Sheriff, and, more importantly, will cast the staff of the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office in a negative light.”
In his resignation letter, Waltz said the Smith River address had been legally secured as his permanent residence before he filed the election paperwork.
“This fact is documented by a check I wrote to the owners of the property, which they deposited in January of this year, prior to my filing any paperwork,” he said.
Property websites show the Smith River address as a furnished rental on U.S. Highway 101 near the Oregon border. The property owner told the Sacramento Bee that Waltz moved into the unit last month.
“So long as these charges are pending, I believe the purpose for which I entered law enforcement is undermined,” Waltz said in his letter, adding that he has “no intention” of collecting payment from the county in the form of paid administrative leave while not being able to perform his duties.
A representative for the district attorney’s office could not be reached Monday evening.
An arraignment is scheduled in Del Norte on March 29.
AENN. has not determined the outcome of the March 29, 2022 hearing.
