PLACENTIA : Retirement No End to Mayor’s Career

When John Tynes capped nearly 40 years as an educator in 1979, he had plenty to show for it, but his accomplishments were by no means ended.

Over the years, he had worked his way up from athletic coach and teacher to superintendent of Placentia’s schools. Two buildings--an elementary school and a park building--and a street, Tynes Drive, were named for him. He pioneered special education programs that were adopted by educators across the nation.

Yet after his “retirement,” Tynes, 75, went on to serve as the Placentia city administrator and as a councilman. In November, the soft-spoken, slow-talking Mississippi native was chosen as Placentia’s mayor, making him one of the oldest persons to hold that post in Orange County.

“I enjoy it,” Tynes said. “I like the city, and I think probably my biggest contribution is in finances. I know finances. I’m pretty conservative. It’s getting more difficult, especially with the recession, but that’s probably when I can do the most good.”

Tynes moved to Placentia in 1944, when the city was still dominated by citrus groves, to take a job as a teacher and coach at Valencia High School. The school had only 150 students then, and he and his family lived in an abandoned elementary school with other high school teachers.

Several years later, Tynes got involved in city government by helping create Placentia’s first recreation program. That led to a stint on the Placentia City Council in the early 1950s and then the early 1970s, including two terms as mayor.

Throughout his career, Tynes has gained a reputation for being a healer, someone who has restored peace and confidence to a divided council or school board.

“I seem always to trot along behind and settle differences,” he said. “I like working with people.”

In 1972, Tynes was hired as the Placentia school district superintendent, taking over at a time when school building funds were frozen, programs had been severely cut and salaries had been frozen. But during his tenure, two-thirds of the programs were restored, two new schools were built and salaries were raised.

Nine years later, a bitterly divided Placentia City Council fired City Administrator Edwin T. Powell, a move that led to the recall of the council majority that voted for Powell’s dismissal. During the squabble, Tynes was called on to serve as interim city manager. He served in the post for eight months, resigning to run for City Council. He was defeated in 1982, but elected in 1984.

For the past two months, Tynes has suffered acute laryngitis. He has been undergoing radiation therapy to remove a growth from his larynx, and he is unsure whether he will run for reelection to a third consecutive term on the council.

Tynes’ most lasting accomplishments have been in his work with children. Often, he has drawn on his own family’s challenges in finding help.

The youngest of the Tynes’ five children had a perceptual problem--he often got written questions wrong, but would answer correctly if asked to respond to the same question orally. The problem led Tynes in 1967 to study muscle and brain coordination and create six activities to improve coordination and balance using better equipment. That, in turn, led to students getting better marks in the classroom, and the method was adopted by special education teachers nationwide.

More recently, in 1987, another son, Bill, died of AIDS. Tynes and his wife, Clairee, have been active ever since, helping to raise money for AIDS research and educating the public about the disease. Last June, they participated in the Orange County AIDS Walk.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever thought of it as overcoming a problem,” said Clairee Tynes, who wrote a book on how their family confronted AIDS. “You just do what you have to do. We never dwelt on the negative.”