Anti-Poverty Agency Chief Argues Hard to Keep Job

John Flores, the embattled president of Orange County’s largest anti-poverty agency, told the board of directors Thursday that he wants to keep his job, although the board last week decided not to renew his contract.

Flores appeared at a meeting of the Community Development Council’s five-member executive board to “set the record straight” and counter what he termed a “campaign of misinformation” against him and the agency, which serves Orange County’s poor with a $6-million annual budget.

“There are some who say that John Flores doesn’t want the job. The fact is that I would not have hired an attorney to represent me at great expense to myself, nor would I be here before you today if I did not want the job,” Flores said.

The executive board postponed a decision until May 7, the day Flores’ contract expires, and set a special meeting of the full, 15-member board on that day.

Flores’ supporters protested loudly when Denise Berg, acting chairwoman, at first said the decision would be made in executive session, without a public hearing.

“Let me just remind you that this is a public organization, accountable not only to the poor but to the public,” said Ruth Harmon, a civic activist.

Some Public Comment

Berg eventually agreed to allow some public comment at the May 7 meeting.

“I still think anything is conceivable,” Berg said. “Right now, his contract is due to expire on May 7, and we’re going to appoint an interim director at that time. But who knows? I think the board is not immune to alternative action.”

Flores, who receives $47,700 a year and has been the agency’s top official for three years, had asked for a substantial raise and increased benefits.

But some board members have been unhappy with Flores’ management style.

Allen Baldwin, executive director for the Orange County Housing Corp., which helps house low-income families, Thursday urged board members to submit Flores’ contract requests to arbitration because the “ongoing conflict creates an adverse impact on the agency and employees.”