Supervisors Welcome New Colleague

Don R. Roth was happy to no longer be the junior supervisor on the board. Roger R. Stanton was pleased not to have to represent two districts. Harriett M. Wieder told her newest colleague, “Welcome back to Orange County.” And Thomas F. Riley looked forward to having someone who could “hit the ground running.”

Orange County’s four supervisors took turns Thursday telephoning Gaddi Vasquez and congratulating him on becoming the newest member of the Board of Supervisors, filling the seat vacated by the January resignation of Vasquez’s former boss, Bruce Nestande.

Meanwhile, Nestande praised the appointment Thursday and said, “The Hispanic community now has a new leader.”

At least three contenders who were not tapped for the post--former Tustin Councilman Donald J. Saltarelli, former Nestande aide Ron Rogers and former Orange Mayor Jim Beam--said they were neither surprised nor upset about Deukmejian’s choice and predicted Vasquez would have no substantial opposition in next year’s supervisorial election.

Roth, the former Anaheim mayor who was elected supervisor last November and was sworn in last January, said he was “really glad we’ve got the post filled and we can get on with our business.”

“There’s been so much politicking and calling around,” Roth said. “Now we can get on with our routine work.”

Stanton, who became board chairman when Nestande resigned and temporarily took over supervision of the 3rd District, said he would be happy “to devote my time to the chairmanship and my 1st District constituents.”

Former Nestande Aide

The supervisors said Vasquez told them that he expects to be sworn in as supervisor in 10 days to two weeks. A former executive assistant to Nestande, he is now chief deputy appointments secretary to Gov. George Deukmejian, the man who appointed him supervisor.

Vasquez will be the board’s first Latino, and at age 32, its youngest member. Stanton is 49; Roth is 65; Wieder is 66, and Riley is 74.

Stanton, Wieder and Riley knew Vasquez when he was an aide to Nestande, though all said they did not deal with him extensively.

Wieder said that besides welcoming Vasquez back to the county, she offered him help from her staff if he needed it.

Wieder said Vasquez knew that she was promoting one of her own former aides, Carolyn Ewing, for the supervisor’s post.

“I never made any bones about it,” Wieder said. “She was very, very qualified. She was one of the top candidates, I’ve since been told. The variables that went into the governor’s decision I’m not privy to.”

Riley said Vasquez “is bringing a lot of energy” to his new job.

“Certainly he’s hitting the ground running,” Riley said, because he is “already briefed and knowledgeable in the duties he is getting ready to assume.” The supervisor said Vasquez’s knowledge of the district and the issues are pluses.

Riley said he encouraged Vasquez to start meeting with groups in the district even before he takes office “so he can indicate his policies and his method of operation and encourage them to tell him what their concerns are, and what their interests are.”

All the supervisors said they look forward to having a full five-person board to deal with such issues as transportation problems and solutions to jail overcrowding in the months ahead.

Ron Rogers, the former Nestande aide who had worked closely with Deukmejian in several elections, said Thursday, “I think the governor had a lot of good people to choose from, and I think Gaddi will make a very good supervisor.”

Rogers added that he plans to continue working as a political consultant. Asked about his personal disappointment, Rogers said: “I don’t know if disappointment is the right word. I would very much have liked to serve the community in that capacity. I know Bruce (Nestande) had good things to say about me and good things to say about Gaddi. . . . The one thing we both had going for us was that it was Deukmejian making the appointment.”

Rogers said he doesn’t think any of the “losers” will challenge Vasquez at the polls next year because there was a tacit understanding among applicants that they would go along and support the governor’s choice.

Jim Beam, the former Orange mayor who lost a bitter, costly battle with Roth for the 4th District seat on the Board of Supervisors, said he was “delighted to see such a qualified person appointed. . . . I supported Gaddi in his previous (1984) election attempt to gain a seat on the Orange City Council. . . . I appointed him to the Orange Planning Commission. . . . I think he will do a super job.

“I didn’t really have any expectations about who the governor would appoint. If the governor would have called me, I would have accepted the appointment, but when you’ve been in a tough race like I was, you go into a thing like this with some political baggage, and I realized that. I knew it was a long shot.”

Beam said he has no “further plans to run for office.” He said it would be foolish to challenge Vasquez next year because “it’s very difficult to defeat an incumbent in this county.”

Saltarelli, the former Tustin mayor who resigned and planned to move into the 3rd District to be eligible for the seat, said he was “not personally disappointed. . . . I was a late entry into this thing at the urging of many different people. I don’t know Mr. Vasquez, but I wish him well.”

Gene Beyer, an Orange councilman who voted to fire Vasquez from the city Planning Commission after Vasquez ran against him and two other incumbents in 1984, said he had no reservations about the governor’s choice.

“The governor usually makes good appointments,” Beyer said. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but as far as I’m concerned there weren’t any hard feelings” after the 1984 confrontation.

Fullerton Mayor Richard C. Ackerman, another of the many candidates in the running for the gubernatorial appointment, said Thursday that he thought Vasquez was a good choice for the job.

“I’m happy for Gaddi. I’ve known him for sometime,” Ackerman said. “I think his experience with Nestande’s office will help him a great deal.”

Ackerman said he “certainly would have liked” to have been Deukmejian’s choice. But, he added, “I think there were a number of good candidates in the running, and that must have made it pretty difficult for the governor to decide. Gaddi’s a good man.”

Nestande said Thursday that he was “thrilled” with the governor’s choice and predicted that Vasquez will be a “great supervisor.” Nestande acknowledged that he had initially supported Rogers for the post. “I make no apologies for that, but I also said nice things about Gaddi, and Ron knew that also.”

GADDI VASQUEZ AT A GLANCE

Gaddi H. Vasquez, a 32-year-old Republican, will be Orange County’s first Latino supervisor. His annual salary will be $58,000.

Hometown: Orange. Recently moved to Mission Viejo.

Current Job: Gov. George Deukmejian’s chief deputy appointments secretary.

Previous Jobs: Governor’s deputy appointments secretary, 1986; governor’s liaison to Latino community, 1985; community relations officer at Southern California Edison Co., 1984; executive assistant to former Supervisor Bruce Nestande, 1980-84; member, City of Orange Planning Commission, 1980-84; City of Riverside community relations coordinator, 1980; City of Orange policeman, 1975-79.

Family: Son of the Rev. and Mrs. Guadalupe Vasquez of Orange. Wife, Elaine, 33, a medical assistant. Son, Jason, 7.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in public service management from University of Redlands, 1980. Associate degree in administration of justice, Santa Ana College, 1974.

Politics: Born in Carrizo Springs, Tex., Vasquez has lived in Orange 25 years and has been involved in politics since high school. In 1972, at the age of 17, he was elected governor of California--at the 35th annual Boys’ State Convention in Sacramento. Vasquez, who once said he patterned his speaking style after evangelist Billy Graham, won 33 of 37 speech contests during his junior and senior high school career. In 1984, he ran unsuccessfully for the Orange City Council, finishing fourth among nine candidates competing for three seats. In 1986, Vasquez was named one of the most influential Latinos in the United States by Hispanic Business Magazine.