Politics : Irvine Water Official Plans Riley Challenge

In a battle he readily admits is “uphill,” Irvine water official Peer A. Swan announced that he will challenge incumbent Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, when the former Marine Corps brigadier general seeks a fifth term next June.

The 77-year-old Riley, chairman of the five-member board, said in July that he would run, despite his age and asthma-related health problems that have necessitated hospitalization in recent years.

Swan, 45, said a key issue in the 5th Supervisorial District is development without adequate services, particularly roads. The district, which stretches from Costa Mesa to San Clemente and inland to Irvine and Laguna Hills, boasts some of the worst traffic congestion in the county, Swan said, and he holds Riley accountable.

“It is a terrible situation that has happened on his watch,” said Swan, treasurer of Newport Beach-based Pacific Scientific Co., a diversified manufacturing firm.

Swan, an Irvine resident and unsuccessful congressional candidate in the 40th District a year ago, conceded that Riley, with his influence and long standing in Republican circles, can raise “10 times” the campaign money Shaw can.

“But I have to figure that every motorist who gets snarled at the El Toro Y, is a potential Peer Swan voter,” predicted Swan, referring to the junction of the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways. He also said, if elected, he would open a South County office, believing that it is unfair to ask those in need of county assistance to “wade through traffic” to reach the Civic Center complex in Santa Ana.

Swan is president of the Irvine Ranch Water District board of directors and has been active in varied civic and GOP organizations.