Supervisor Riley to Run Again in 1986

Thomas F. Riley, the retired U.S. Marine Corps general who at 73 is the oldest member of the county Board of Supervisors, announced Monday that he will seek reelection next year.

Riley, who represents the county’s southwest coastal area, the wealthiest of the five supervisorial districts, said “parks, open space, green belts and things guarantee we will never be another Los Angeles.”

Riley so far is the only announced candidate for his seat, and he declined to estimate how much the race might cost. Thomas Fuentes, county Republican chairman, who was at the press conference, said that because of the district’s wealth, a dark-horse candidate with access to money could emerge as a challenger.

Clark at His Side

Also present at Riley’s side was Ralph Clark, the only Democrat on what is officially a nonpartisan board. Clark announced earlier that he would not seek reelection next year and pledged to work on Riley’s campaign if needed.

Underscoring his belief that the five-member board should remain nonpartisan, Riley picked as his co-chairs James Roosevelt, a registered Democrat, former congressman and son of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Marian Bergeson, the Republican state senator from Newport Beach.

There has been speculation in the past that anger among some residents of Irvine, San Juan Capistrano and especially Laguna Beach at development in that area might produce a challenger to Riley next year.

A particular sore point has been Riley’s support of a planned freeway through the San Joaquin Hills.

The supervisor conceded that “right now (residents in) my district feel like everything is being dumped on them.” But, he said, the development that has occurred was approved 20 years ago.

Riley cited as accomplishments the recent compromise agreement to expand John Wayne Airport, which is in his district, and the initiation of bond programs to finance housing for low- and moderate-income residents of the county.

Riley was first appointed to the board in 1974 by then Gov. Ronald Reagan to take the place of Supervisor Ronald W. Caspers, who disappeared at sea shortly after winning reelection. Riley won terms on the board in 1976, 1978 and 1982.

The initial appointment as a supervisor surprised many because Riley had little experience in government and politics.

Riley entered the Marine Corps in 1935 after graduating from Virginia Military Institute and rose through the ranks to become a brigadier general, retiring in 1964 as inspector general of the corps.

He became a resident of Newport Beach and worked for two Orange County firms before becoming a supervisor.