Education official charged with fraud tried to get new attorney, judge denies request

Office of Education board member Annette Gonzalez-Buttner tried to get a new attorney on Tuesday after recently letting go of a previous one. A Brawley judge denied her request.

Steven Honse , Gonzalez-Buttner’s defense attorney said, ” We’re still doing discovery, identifying witnesses, going over the evidence, working out the dates for trial. We have a general notion that the trial will be in January because there’s complex legal issues, there’s a lot of witnesses. So, it’s going to take that long to get ready. ”

She’s charged with making a false declaration, grand theft and two felony counts of perjury for allegedly using a local address to win an election two years ago while not living there.

Honse denies any wrongdoing by Gonzalez-Buttner .

” I don’t think that they’ve treated this woman fairly. I think that she’s dedicated herself to her community and she just gets a couple hundred dollars a month to do this. She does this because she loves the kids and she loves her community and she wants to give back, ” Honse said.

Ms. Gonzalez-Buttner has not been arrested. She remains free while awaiting trial.

“I think that she’s been identified and that she’s the subject of a political prosecution,” Honse said.

If convicted, Gonzalez-Buttner faces four years in prison. A pre-trial is set for October and her trial next year.