IRVINE : Sheridan Lied About Degree, Lawyer Says

An attorney said Friday that Councilwoman Sally Anne Sheridan lied about her educational background in a deposition for a lawsuit.

Sheridan, who is running against incumbent Larry Agran in the June 5 mayoral race, recently acknowledged that she did not have a master’s degree in nursing from Harvard University, as stated in her campaign literature. She said she took graduate courses at Harvard.

At a news conference, Irvine attorney and Agran supporter Christopher Mears produced a deposition document from October, in which Sheridan described her background by saying, “I have a bachelor’s and master’s in nursing.” She did not mention the master’s degree a second time, but said, “I did my graduate work in Boston Harvard . . . ,” according to the document said.

Mears is referring the deposition and his allegations of perjury to the district attorney’s office. Perjury is a felony carrying a maximum two- to four-year sentence under state law. Attempts to reach Sheridan on Friday were unsuccessful.

Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder was involved in a similar controversy during her unsuccessful congressional campaign in 1988. Wieder admitted that her campaign biographies falsely stated that she had earned a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.

Wieder also testified under oath in a deposition taken in 1987 that she had graduated from Wayne State. A prosecutor said at the time that Wieder’s statement would not constitute criminal perjury. To warrant prosecution, the prosecutor said, a misstatement under oath has to be a “big mistake” and material to the case at hand.

Sheridan’s deposition was taken in a recently settled lawsuit filed in 1988 against Councilman Cameron Cosgrove. The suit said the councilman was seated illegally in July, 1988, and sought to remove him.