Steve Rocco

He was the ultimate dark-horse politician, a school board member who murmured about conspiracies, refused to talk with colleagues, wore coal-black sunglasses during night meetings and survived a recall attempt. But former Orange school trustee Steve Rocco may finally have met his match in a half-full bottle of ketchup.

A jury convicted former Orange school board trustee Steve Rocco of petty theft Thursday for stealing a 14-ounce bottle of Heinz ketchup last September from a dining area at Chapman University. Rocco, an eccentric 58-year-old Santa Ana recluse known for wearing dark glasses and espousing shadowy theories about a powerful cabal he calls the Partnership, won a seat on the school board in 2004. He spent his term largely refusing to speak with colleagues, and survived a recall attempt.

Wearing an indigo knit cap and sunglasses, Steve Rocco slipped into the last Orange school board meeting of the year. Over the next two hours, he abstained from several votes, uttered a few eyebrow-raising comments and ended the night with a ramble that touched on the anniversary of John Lennon's murder, the folly of allowing soda in schools and the completion of his first year in office. "The freshman year has ended," Rocco, 54, said. "That makes me a sophomore."

He was the ultimate dark-horse politician, a school board member who murmured about conspiracies, refused to talk with colleagues, wore coal-black sunglasses during night meetings and survived a recall attempt. But former Orange school trustee Steve Rocco may finally have met his match in a half-full bottle of ketchup.

Steve Rocco, the reclusive candidate who has had Orange County voters scratching their heads since his unexpected election to a local school board last month, broke his silence Friday. Rocco -- who has eluded voters, reporters and even district officials after his election -- agreed to an interview with The Times and public radio station KPCC-FM (89.3), but offered little insight into his philosophy on education.

A California appeals court has upheld a Superior Court ruling that Orange Unified School District board member Steve Rocco and others must pay $37,000 in legal fees stemming from a dismissed lawsuit against the district. Rocco was joined by Richard McKee, president of the California First Amendment Coalition, and the nonprofit group Californians Aware in suing the district in 2006 after Rocco's fellow trustees censured him for belittling a school principal during a public board meeting.

A jury convicted former Orange school board trustee Steve Rocco of petty theft Thursday for stealing a 14-ounce bottle of Heinz ketchup last September from a dining area at Chapman University. Rocco, an eccentric 58-year-old Santa Ana recluse known for wearing dark glasses and espousing shadowy theories about a powerful cabal he calls the Partnership, won a seat on the school board in 2004. He spent his term largely refusing to speak with colleagues, and survived a recall attempt.

Eccentric Orange schools Trustee Steve Rocco has filed a complaint with state and county officials accusing fellow board members of meeting in secret and denying him official stationery. "Redress & Reform needed," he concluded in the Feb. 5 letter addressed to the Orange County Grand Jury and district attorney, the California attorney general, secretary of state and the Fair Political Practices Commission.

Curious to set their eyes on the reclusive, eccentric man they had unexpectedly voted into office, about 100 parents, teachers and officials in the Orange Unified School District turned out Thursday night to see Steve Rocco sworn in as a trustee. If they came looking for a show, Rocco did not disappoint.

The Steve Rocco Era -- which I predict will come to be remembered with sadness and regret -- began at 7:25 p.m. last Thursday in the Orange Unified School District boardroom. The mystery man who won a school board seat last month sat down and within a minute or two had taken his first action: He knelt down to adjust his chair that he thought rode too low. Unable to do so, he got a new one -- a gray swivel that contrasted with the maroon seating for the rest of the board.

A California appeals court has upheld a Superior Court ruling that Orange Unified School District board member Steve Rocco and others must pay $37,000 in legal fees stemming from a dismissed lawsuit against the district. Rocco was joined by Richard McKee, president of the California First Amendment Coalition, and the nonprofit group Californians Aware in suing the district in 2006 after Rocco's fellow trustees censured him for belittling a school principal during a public board meeting.

I hadn't seen Steve Rocco in action since his first school board meeting in December 2004, but he wasn't hard to spot Thursday night: he was the only trustee wearing a watch cap and dark glasses. It may have been the same cap he was wearing in his debut more than two years ago. And the only trustee with "Truth" spelled out on a second nameplate in front of him. And the only one with fellow trustee Kathy Moffat's framed photo in front of him.

Fed up with eccentric Orange schools Trustee Steve Rocco, his fellow school board members will try to curtail his ability to place discussion items on the meeting agenda next week. District staff will present a proposal at the Thursday board meeting that calls for the board president to decide whether a trustee's discussion item ought to be placed on the agenda. If the president denies the item, the trustee can appeal the decision to the full board.

Eccentric Orange schools Trustee Steve Rocco has filed a complaint with state and county officials accusing fellow board members of meeting in secret and denying him official stationery. "Redress & Reform needed," he concluded in the Feb. 5 letter addressed to the Orange County Grand Jury and district attorney, the California attorney general, secretary of state and the Fair Political Practices Commission.

Wearing an indigo knit cap and sunglasses, Steve Rocco slipped into the last Orange school board meeting of the year. Over the next two hours, he abstained from several votes, uttered a few eyebrow-raising comments and ended the night with a ramble that touched on the anniversary of John Lennon's murder, the folly of allowing soda in schools and the completion of his first year in office. "The freshman year has ended," Rocco, 54, said. "That makes me a sophomore."

The Steve Rocco Era -- which I predict will come to be remembered with sadness and regret -- began at 7:25 p.m. last Thursday in the Orange Unified School District boardroom. The mystery man who won a school board seat last month sat down and within a minute or two had taken his first action: He knelt down to adjust his chair that he thought rode too low. Unable to do so, he got a new one -- a gray swivel that contrasted with the maroon seating for the rest of the board.

I hadn't seen Steve Rocco in action since his first school board meeting in December 2004, but he wasn't hard to spot Thursday night: he was the only trustee wearing a watch cap and dark glasses. It may have been the same cap he was wearing in his debut more than two years ago. And the only trustee with "Truth" spelled out on a second nameplate in front of him. And the only one with fellow trustee Kathy Moffat's framed photo in front of him.

Fed up with eccentric Orange schools Trustee Steve Rocco, his fellow school board members will try to curtail his ability to place discussion items on the meeting agenda next week. District staff will present a proposal at the Thursday board meeting that calls for the board president to decide whether a trustee's discussion item ought to be placed on the agenda. If the president denies the item, the trustee can appeal the decision to the full board.

Curious to set their eyes on the reclusive, eccentric man they had unexpectedly voted into office, about 100 parents, teachers and officials in the Orange Unified School District turned out Thursday night to see Steve Rocco sworn in as a trustee. If they came looking for a show, Rocco did not disappoint.

Steve Rocco, the reclusive candidate who has had Orange County voters scratching their heads since his unexpected election to a local school board last month, broke his silence Friday. Rocco -- who has eluded voters, reporters and even district officials after his election -- agreed to an interview with The Times and public radio station KPCC-FM (89.3), but offered little insight into his philosophy on education.