Quiz on Supervisors Tests Knowledge, Limits of Belief

Today’s topic is the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Do you know what that is?

Right, I know. . . . But I mean besides that.

In an effort to better public awareness about this great elected body, I have devised a simple test. Here’s your chance to evaluate your knowledge of civics, Orange County style.

Please respond to the best of your ability. Coming up with the correct answers is tough. Even I found some of them hard to believe. But, trust me, they are all true .

1. The Orange County Board of Supervisors is a fairly homogenous group of guys, except for one of them, who is not. A guy, I mean. This supervisor, in fact, is the only woman on the board. Who might that be?

a) Christine Jorgensen.

b) Milli Vanilli.

c) Harriett Wieder.

2. The Orange County Board of Supervisors is environmentally aware. Its members, for example, recently celebrated Earth Day ’90 by issuing a proclamation saying that saving the Earth was a swell idea. They’ve had a harder time taking more specific steps toward restoring the ecobalance. Which supervisor, in lamenting the difficulty of such a mandate, said, “Is it our fault that in the last year alone 43,000 new babies have been born in this county?”

a) Randall Terry.

b) Wade Boggs.

c) Don R. Roth.

3. Despite what some people say, the Orange County Board of Supervisors is not immune to the whines of the citizenry. Take malathion spraying. The board recently voted to extend the Medfly state of emergency, which eases the way for the spraying. True, they do this every two weeks, but it’s getting harder. After all, who’s to say that the voters who testify before the board about how much they hate the spraying aren’t just overreacting? And all the medical complaints! It takes a tough supervisor to sort the wheat from the chaff.

For example, which supervisor--after hearing from a woman whose sister, extremely chemically sensitive, can no longer live in her own home and a father whose 2-year-old is having trouble breathing--suggested that the sickies simply move out of the county?

a) Marie Antoinette.

b) Andrew Dice Clay.

c) Thomas F. Riley.

4. One must work very hard to become a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Needless to say, education is key. This can be seen by scrutinizing the resumes of our current supervisors. Which one of them has a degree from Wayne State University?

a) Joe Isuzu.

b) Sally Anne Sheridan.

c) Harriett Wieder.

d) None of the above.

5. You can only push a supervisor so far. Yes sir, that’s what contractor Taylor Woodrow just found out. The supervisors unanimously voted to fire the company from the job of building a new airport parking garage and road, a $25-million contract. The contractors were eight months behind schedule. Taylor Woodrow, however, will keep the $60-million terminal job. And it will be completed on time . How are the supervisors, crafty, fiscally minded managers that they are, going to pull this off?

a) By declaring an airport state of emergency and calling out the National Guard.

b) By offering frequent-flier miles to passengers who agree to pitch in and help while waiting for their flights to take off.

c) By paying an additional $1 million in overtime expenses.

6. Before being elected to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Thomas F. Riley had a long and distinguished military career. By what affectionate nickname do fellow supervisors address him?

a) Col. Klink.

b) Sgt. Bilko.

c) The General.

7. Members of the county’s medical establishment recently addressed the Orange County Board of Supervisors to urge an increase in health-care funding for the poor. After hearing the prepared remarks of Dr. Laurence Wellikson, who spoke on behalf of the Orange County Medical Assn., one of supervisors called him “a little man . . . who has been nowhere.” The supervisor in question was:

a) Randy Newman.

b) Al Sharpton.

c) Roger R. Stanton.

8. No supervisor can grab all the sexy headlines all the time. Gaddi Vasquez knows this better than most, even though he’s had some help. The GOP is promoting him as one of its rising young Latino stars. He even spoke at the Republican National Convention. Which, of course, begs the question: ? Quien es mas macho?

a) Fernando Lamas.

b) Ricardo Montalban.

c) Gaddi Vasquez.

9. Defending a recent board move, Supervisor Don Roth said, “They make people feel good.” What was he talking about?

a) County-funded lambada lessons for the poor.

b) Car pool lanes.

c) A slew of resolutions commending Orange County residents and companies.

10. Orange County is in budget trouble--big budget trouble. The estimated deficit for next year is already $20 million. Expenses are up, services down. This calls for strong leadership from the Board of Supervisors. Which of the supervisors went on the record with this bold response, “We’re all sitting around worried about what we’re going to do”?

a) Robert Alton Harris.

b) Isabel Peron.

c) Thomas F. Riley.

Answers: 1, c; 2, c; 3, c; 4, d; 5, c; 6, c; 7, c; 8, b; 9, c; 10, c

Dianne Klein’s column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Klein by writing to her at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626, or calling (714) 966-7406.