Testy Supervisors Back Plan to Raise Voice in Regional Affairs

The Orange County Board of Supervisors, after an unusually testy exchange, voted Tuesday to approve a plan for increasing the county’s voice in regional affairs.

In the process, the board ignored the advice of its chief administrative officer and angered Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, who is generally recognized as the leading booster of regional planning on the county board.

“These are the boys hanging together,” Wieder said as her four male colleagues sat silently, refusing to acknowledge her suggestions on regional planning.

However, the board did back a proposal by Supervisor Thomas F. Riley that sets the county on a course toward reuniting with two regional planning organizations, the Southern California Assn. of Governments and the Southern California Regional Airport Authority.

Riley’s proposal, which the board approved 4-1 with Wieder opposing, also creates a county working group on regional issues.

Many local officials have grown increasingly concerned that the county cannot afford to stay removed from regional planning efforts, especially because efforts are underway in Sacramento to give new powers to organizations like SCAG. The association already has substantial influence over regional planning and grant allocations, and it can block local agencies from receiving federal grant money for highway and rail projects.

The supervisors stopped paying dues to SCAG in 1989 because of differences over population growth estimates and because some county officials believed the organization was dominated by its Los Angeles members. As a result, Orange County has not had a vote in association board meetings since last spring.

The board on Tuesday did not commit to rejoining SCAG, but Riley has recommended that the supervisors consider paying dues again for at least six months, beginning on Jan. 1. The working group created Tuesday is to report back to the board by the end of the year on the question of rejoining SCAG.

Riley’s proposal had sparked a counter-suggestion by Wieder, who urged that the board move more quickly in rejoining SCAG. But the two supervisors appeared to differ more on approach than on substance.

Wieder also proposed that the supervisors reject Riley’s proposed working group, and instead work through existing organizations. Creating a new group, she said, could lead some observers to conclude that “we’re turning our backs or ignoring” the organizations that the county already participates in.

County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider said that he too had reservations about Riley’s proposed working group. He noted that the Executive Steering Committee, a group that includes county and city officials, already is studying some of the issues addressed by Riley. When Wieder moved to try to incorporate her suggestions into the Riley proposal, her proposal died because none of the other board members was willing to second it.