Issue Arises as Seat Is Filled for Great Park

A decorated pilot who once flew out of El Toro Marine base has been named to the board planning to replace it with a large urban park.

William G. Kogerman, 67, of Laguna Hills was picked Thursday to replace former Irvine Co. executive Richard G. Sim on the nine-member Orange County Great Park Corp.’s board of directors. Sim resigned abruptly in May after accusing park board leadership of wasteful spending and muddy priorities.

The board last month chose a prominent New York landscape architect to design the proposed $401-million park on the closed base in the heart of Orange County. It will be at the center of a 3,700-acre residential, commercial and office development in Irvine.

Many decisions lie ahead for the park board, including approval of the final park design, selection of a master developer and construction of the park. The first elements of it are expected to open by 2008.

Just as Sim left the park board amid controversy, Kogerman’s selection sparked similar tension. He was opposed by two board members who questioned his ties with public affairs giant Forde & Mollrich of Newport Beach, which last year denied allegations of bill-padding in its $1.2-million contract with the park board.

Kogerman said he worked for the company four years ago during the fight to kill plans for a commercial airport at El Toro. He is currently managing the supervisorial campaign of Laguna Niguel Councilwoman Cathryn de Young, who separately employs Forde & Mollrich as her chief strategist.

Kogerman said he would abstain from future votes on Forde & Mollrich’s contract if he believed there was a conflict of interest. He vowed to be an independent voice on the park board, comprising all five Irvine council members along with four seats selected from the public.

“Anybody who knows me knows I’m an independent person,” Kogerman said after the 6-2 vote, with Irvine council members Christina Shea and Steven Choi dissenting.

Two other finalists for the spot were praised Thursday, although they didn’t pull much support. Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell said he wanted to focus on cultural diversity and broaden the board’s representation outside south Orange County. Personnel manager Mark Steiman, who works at Washington Mutual and lives in Aliso Viejo, said his priority would have been designing and implementing business plans for the Great Park.

Sim said he knew little about Kogerman but expressed disappointment by saying the board still lacked strong business and park-building expertise.