Former Assembly District 30 candidate Neil Kitchens pleads to election fraud.

The timing couldn't be more ironic and the fall couldn't be any farther.

Today, on Election Day morning, former California Assembly District 30 candidate Neil Kitchens pleaded no contest to a felony count of violating state election code by lying on official documents about his place of residence, a charge called "false candidacy declaration." He also pleaded no contest in a separate case to a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence. 

Wearing flip flops and socks, rumpled khakis and an untucked shirt, Kitchens stood before Monterey County Superior Court Judge Carrie Panetta and acknowledged he understood his rights, and was pleading to the counts of his own volition. 

Kitchens, the lone Republican in the 2018 race for the seat that eventually went to Robert Rivas, had faced multiple felony counts in the case, including illegal voter registration, perjury and offering a false or forged instrument—meaning document—in how he registered for the race.

When Panetta asked him if he understood that by pleading to the charges, he was waiving his right to appeal, Kitchens hesitated, prompting defense attorney Frank Dice to whisper at him, "Yes." Kitchens then told the judge he understood. 

Panetta ordered Kitchens to report to the Probation Department so they could prepare a report for his sentencing hearing, set for Jan. 26, 2021. Dice told the judge he wanted to set the hearing further out because Kitchens had been battling health problems; several months ago, Kitchens had come to court for a pre-trial hearing, but said he had tested positive for Covid-19, prompting a delay in his hearings. 

He faces three years of supervised probation at sentencing on the election code felony, plus unsupervised probation on the DUI charge, which stemmed from an arrest on March 3 of this year.

After the hearing, Kitchens declined to comment. "No, no I don't want to say anything, but thank you for asking," he said.

At Kitchens' Oct. 31, 2019 preliminary hearing, District Attorney Investigator Erik Morris testified that his office opened an investigation based on a complaint made by campaign consultant Christian Schneider that Kitchens registered for the election using the address of a Salinas property he owns in District 30, while his home address was outside the district in Prunedale.

When Morris went to the Salinas address, at 54 Gardena Drive, he spoke to an occupant who said she had rented the home from Kitchens for the past three years, but that he didn't live there. 

Secretary of State Chief Investigator Martin Defee testified that Kitchens had filed official documents that include a voter registration form, a code of ethics form and a ballot designation worksheet bearing the Gardena Drive address, all dated March of 2018, while a previous voter registration form was filed with an address on Cross Road in Prunedale.

It was at the Cross Road ranch house that a Weekly reporter attended a June 5, 2018, election night party for Kitchens, where about 50 supporters watched election results come in. Kitchens garnered 32 percent of the vote from a field of five candidates.

The Cross Road house is located in Assembly District 29, not 30.