OCTC Picks Roosevelt Replacement : Former Deukmejian Official Beats Lawyer Tied to Stanton

Dana W. Reed, a Costa Mesa attorney and political consultant who has served in the Deukmejian Administration, was named Monday as the so-called public representative on the eight-member Orange County Transportation Commission.

In a unanimous vote that ended a month of bitter wrangling, commission members selected Reed over Wylie A. Aitken, a prominent trial lawyer and campaign chairman for Supervisor Roger R. Stanton, a commission member.

Reed’s opponents said he is too closely tied to developers and other business clients to be an independent voice on the commission, while others argued that Aitken is too inexperienced in transportation.

Reed, former state undersecretary of business, transportation and housing, succeeds James Roosevelt, 80, who retired last month.

Reed, 43, and Aitken, 45, were finalists from among a list of 40 people who either applied for the post or were nominated by others.

“I’m naturally very pleased,” Reed said after Monday’s vote. “I’m looking forward to going to work at the very next meeting.”

Reed said he had no specific plans to propose to the panel, but before Monday’s action, he told commissioners that county residents “want, expect and deserve additional lane miles” of freeway and that he would work to obtain them as quickly as possible.

Referring to Drivers for Highway Safety and others who have criticized the California Department of Transportation, Reed said he would not “mindlessly attack Caltrans with silly press stunts.”

He said Caltrans responds to “logic and facts, not emotionalism and hype.”

Aitken said he was not surprised by the result, even though commissioners said informal counts showed that there was a 3-3 tie as of Friday.

Commission Chairwoman Clarice Blamer was the key vote, panel members said. At the last minute Monday, she switched from Aitken to Reed and announced her vote first, changing the expected 3-3 tie into 4-2 for Reed. (Roosevelt’s seat is vacant, and Caltrans District Director Keith McKean is an ex-officio member ineligible to vote). The commission then quickly made the vote for Reed unanimous.

Blamer said she switched to Reed because of his experience in transportation matters.

Although the panel is legally a nonpartisan entity, commission members credited Blamer Monday with preventing a politically embarrassing moment for Stanton, a Republican, who had been supporting Aitken, a Democrat, for the nonpartisan OCTC post.

Stanton is considering a bid for the congressional seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach). Behind the scenes, some Republicans--including members of the influential Lincoln Club--had been critical of Stanton, based on published reports that he had asked Aitken to apply for the OCTC post.

Before Monday’s vote, Aitken told commission members and the audience that he alone had decided to apply for the job.

Two commission members said in interviews that they had been contacted by Republican activists who were upset with Stanton. The commission members requested anonymity.

When asked whether he would have voted for Aitken if Blamer had not averted the expected tie, Stanton replied, “I’m not going to respond to that.”

But Aitken said he was sure Stanton would have voted for him in that instance.