Schabarum Snubs Aide and Backs Judge as His Successor : Election: The supervisor says Sarah Flores cannot handle the job. But his choice reopens the issue of a Latino seat on the county board.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum Thursday snubbed his longtime aide Sarah Flores and endorsed Superior Court Judge Gregory O’Brien Jr. to succeed him on the county board.

Schabarum’s decision once again opened the issue of Latino representation on the powerful five-man board and drove a wedge between him and his fellow Republican supervisors who have thrown their support behind Flores.

Schabarum, explaining his decision to back O’Brien over Flores, said: “The fact of the matter is that Sarah does not have the educational background, does not have the organizational talents, nor does she have the personal skills that are simply required to fulfill this job.”

“I am hurt,” said Flores, who has worked 18 years for Schabarum, rising from secretary to assistant chief deputy.

Fighting back, Flores rushed to hold a news conference ahead of Schabarum’s, at which she received the backing of Sheriff Sherman Block. She has hired professional political consultant Ron Smith, who helped Deane Dana win a seat on the board in 1980.

Flores, 52, said she “turned in my badge, elevator card and my county car,” taking a leave from her $63,506-a-year job to campaign full time for the supervisor’s job, which pays $89,851. Supervisors’ aides receive cards to operate a private elevator in the Hall of Administration.

Flores is one of 10 candidates seeking the job in the June 5 election. Also on the ballot are former U.S. Rep. Jim Lloyd, Monrovia Mayor Robert Bartlett, and Nell Soto, a Pomona city councilwoman who is also a Latina.

O’Brien, 44, appointed by Gov. George Deukmejian to the Municipal Court in 1984 and the Superior Court in 1988, said he also has taken a leave from the Pomona Superior Court.

Schabarum’s endorsement of O’Brien put him at odds with fellow conservative Supervisors Dana and Mike Antonovich, who are backing Flores. Flores and O’Brien are both Republicans, though the board officially is nonpartisan.

Antonovich and Dana said earlier this week they hope Flores’ candidacy would resolve a redistricting lawsuit accusing the supervisors of denying a Latino a chance to win a seat on the board.

But attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, plaintiffs in the case, said Flores’ candidacy makes no difference in the lawsuit because the Latino community in East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley remains divided between supervisorial districts.

Commenting on Schabarum’s endorsement, Richard Fajardo, an attorney with MALDEF, said: “Given the fact that he is going to support one of the white candidates, it sounds as if the defendant’s theory that a Hispanic has a viable chance to win the seat is called into question.”

But Schabarum argued: “There may well be a substantial portion of the Hispanic community who will take umbrage, or not like, the apparent using of Mrs. Flores by Supervisors Antonovich and Dana as their candidate. On the other hand, there will be a substantial portion of the Hispanic electorate in the 1st District who will hopefully respond to my recommendation.”

The district, which sprawls over the San Gabriel Valley and part of the southeast county, was 40% Latino and 48% Anglo in 1985.

In a crowded 10-person race, bloc voting by ethnic groups could be “tremendously important,” said Ron Smith, Flores’ campaign consultant.

Schabarum’s endorsement and ties to financial contributors could also be an important factor in the race, where the candidates begin on an equal footing, at least from a fund-raising standpoint, because of Schabarum’s last-minute decision Friday not to seek reelection.

But Schabarum, a supervisor for 18 years, acknowledged his influence in the district could be diluted as his handpicked heir battles his assistant chief deputy.

Flores said earlier this week that she did not expect to get her boss’ endorsement “because I am a woman.”

But Schabarum denied that was a factor. “If I had some hang-up about women, I would think that it would be awful difficult for me . . . to comfortably promote her from secretary to the assistant chief deputy that made her the single most important woman in my office--field representative-wise.”

Neither Flores nor O’Brien, who are neighbors in Glendora, criticized each other.

Flores also was reluctant to criticize her boss. “I have a lot of love and respect for the man. He’s been a good boss. He’s given me a lot of opportunities.”

O’Brien said Schabarum “came to me” a few weeks ago about running for the seat, acknowledging that he was one of several other candidates who Schabarum had approached.

Flores said she learned about her boss’ decision not to seek reelection from Saturday’s newspaper.

She said Schabarum’s chief deputy, Tom Hibbard, urged her Thursday night to file for the congressional seat held by Esteban Torres--an action that would have taken her out of the supervisor’s race. But she said she did not want to move to Washington.

Schabarum said he had several meetings with Flores in recent weeks at which they discussed the possibility of running for Congress, but he did not tell her about his plans to step down. Asked if Hibbard urged Flores to run for Congress at his request, Schabarum said: “I don’t really recall. And I don’t know what the relevance of the point is.”