Controversy Revisits Clark Via the ‘SuperBus’ Affair

Ralph B. Clark is remembered for a lot in Orange County.

He was a gas station owner and a working man’s Democrat who entered politics nearly 24 years ago as the mayor of Anaheim. Then, the burly Irishman--affectionately nicknamed “The Big Guy”--went on to serve as a county supervisor through 16 years of dramatic change.

When Supervisor Clark became the first chairman of the Orange County Transit District in 1971, it had only five buses. And when he left office in 1986, he was decorated as a “distinguished citizen” for his instrumental role in bringing the Los Angeles Rams to Orange County.

But despite his lasting achievements--including a city park that bears his name--Clark’s legacy is mixed. Throughout much of Clark’s county government career, the Board of Supervisors was dogged by scandal, one of which effectively prompted his retirement.

Now, news that Clark acted as a paid adviser on a controversial $4-million contract for new county buses has raised questions about the degree to which he has kept a hand in government affairs, even in retirement.

“I’m sorry to see him involved,” said Shirley Grindle, the county’s most tenacious watchdog, who was once appointed to the County Planning Commission by Clark. “Lobbying is not illegal, unfortunately. . . . Clark was selling his influence.”

There are numerous lobbyists around Orange County government, including some who have been involved in controversial deals. But it’s different for Clark. He had served as an elected official before becoming a lobbyist, a move that former Supervisor Phil Anthony also made.

What’s more, although Clark has never been directly linked to wrongdoing, critics say he is remembered in part for his proximity to it.

Clark, now 75, served in a county government during the 1970s that was racked with so much corruption that publications compared it to the worst of Chicago. Three of his fellow supervisors were convicted of crimes, including one for taking bribes from developers.

Then, in 1985, the influence-peddling scandal of Anaheim fireworks manufacturer W. Patrick Moriarty blackened politicians in city, county and state government--including Clark. Again, the supervisor was never charged with a crime, but a Moriarty associate named Clark in an affidavit as one of the lawmakers he provided with prostitutes.

Clark, then 67, denied the allegation. But with opponents already lining up to challenge the politically weakened supervisor, Clark cited his poor health and announced that he would not run for reelection in 1986.

Ever since, Clark has declined to discuss the issue in public. Always an outspoken man with a renowned sense of humor while he was in office, Clark stepped out of the spotlight during his last year in office and never returned.

On his last day as a supervisor--Jan. 5, 1986--Clark made his only comment about the scandal to reporters: “Being constantly linked to Mr. Moriarty’s legal problems is bothersome and hurts a whole lot . . . after so many years of public service free of any whisper of impropriety.”

Last week, when a reporter called to get his comment for this story, Clark hung up the phone. “I’m not interested, thank you,” he said. Click.

The most recent controversy erupted Jan. 31 when The Times reported that county officials never knew of problems at SuperBus Inc. when the county awarded the San Jose company a $4-million contract last summer to build 10 high-capacity buses. Clark was a lobbyist for SuperBus.

Court records show that the company did not pay rent at its offices in San Jose last year and that some of its officers are accused in a pending lawsuit of defrauding investors.

County officials said the company appeared financially sound because it offered a bank’s letter of credit, the language of which is still being negotiated. But, they added, they would have investigated the financial questions if they had been known.

The “SuperBus” is a mass-transit vehicle that looks like a tractor-trailer rig and can carry up to 58 passengers, compared to 38 in a standard bus. Orange County has leased two prototypes of the vehicles since 1988 and, last summer, awarded the contract for 10 new ones.

SuperBus officials said Clark was the company representative who set up meetings with key county officials.

“What Ralph did there was introduce us to the board members and that allowed us to make our presentation,” said James F. Elder, chief executive of SuperBus. Elder and Clark, who was first hired by SuperBus in 1989, said the former supervisor’s fee was paid in company stock, although both declined to reveal the amount.

Because of Clark’s role in the SuperBus contract, Grindle has renewed a call to reform the county laws on lobbyists. Grindle said she has asked Board of Supervisors Chairman Roger R. Stanton for a law that would require lobbyists to disclose their identities, their employers and their compensation.

“These awards are made literally in the dark without the press or the competitors knowing who the influence was,” she said. “I think decisions that are made behind closed doors are usually not the best ones.”

Stanton has indicated that he is receptive to the idea, but wants to research it futher. His colleagues also are waiting to hear more about the proposal before committing to it. And among many who knew Clark while he was in office, there was still support for the man.

“I have nothing but great respect and esteem for retired Supervisor Ralph Clark,” said Don R. Roth, who succeeded Clark as the supervisor from Anaheim. Lobbying “isn’t against the law, so I don’t have any problem with it.”

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said about Clark and other lobbyists: “To me, it’s not a question of influence as much as it is understanding the process. Things get complicated a lot of times by virtue of the regulations.”

SuperBus was not the only lobbying job Clark has done with the county since he retired in 1986, but there have only been a handful of others, and his free-lance employment appears to be no more than part-time.

He told a reporter in 1990 that he spends most of his time tending to a back-yard garden and managing property he owns--including the old gas station--in Anaheim.

But on the other lobbying jobs he has done, there has also been controversy.

As with SuperBus, Clark contacted a county supervisor last summer on behalf of another company suffering financial troubles. After his intervention, Ground Systems Inc. won a lucrative agreement for an exclusive license to operate buses at John Wayne Airport.

At the time Clark represented it, Ground Systems Inc. had filed for bankruptcy, and part owner James Allee was involved in another recent scandal in which he pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud in connection with the demise of an Irvine savings bank.

Clark has represented at least two other companies seeking county transportation business since he retired. In both cases, the company that hired Clark won the contract even though its bid was the highest, not the lowest.

In one case four years ago, the county awarded a $1.5-million contract to National Coach Corp. for the purchase of 25 Dial-A-Ride vans, even though its bid was the highest of three submitted. Clark was hired by the company, based in Gardena.

County officials said that at least one of the other companies bidding on the vans was disqualified because it did not properly follow contract procedures.

And in the other case, Clark worked for Cellular Communications Corp. in 1987 when it won a $4.6-million contract to install emergency telephone boxes on county freeways. Another company, which bid less, challenged the award in court, but a Superior Court judge upheld the selection.

Clark has drawn the wrath of some county activists, who charge that he is a detriment to effective government in Orange County. While some supporters praise Clark as a leader who played a large role in shaping Orange County as it is today, former supervisorial candidate Tom Rogers quips: “Yeah, he richly deserves what he’s got here--a shambles.

“This (lobbying controversy) is not surprising to me at all. The only surprising thing is that people don’t get up in arms about it,” said Rogers, who was chairman of the county Republican Party when Clark was first elected supervisor in 1970.

But support for Clark--and recognition of his prominent role in Orange County history--also comes from both sides of the political aisle.

Orange County Democratic Party Chairman Howard Adler, who also served as party chair while Clark--the last Democrat to serve on the board--was still a supervisor, said he was “one of the most effective supervisors this county has had. . . . He was a working man and a small-business man and he never lost those values.”

About Clark’s lobbying, Adler said: “It’s not unusual for former officeholders to become lobbyists. I don’t have strong feelings on that one way or the other.”

Jim Beam, the former Republican mayor of Orange, was a critic of Clark who threatened in 1985 to challenge him for his seat. When Clark bowed out of the race, Beam ran anyway and lost to Roth.

Today, however, Beam says he has a good relationship with Clark. About the lobbying controversy, he said: “Ralph is financially well off and doesn’t have to work for a living. This is just a natural extension of something to do in his retirement years. It’s just too bad there were some negatives about a client or two that have surfaced.

“I would say that he continues to be well thought of by the folks in Orange County.”

Where Are the Others? Besides Ralph B. Clark, other former supervisors have found niches both in the county and in Northern California: * Bruce Nestande Years supervisor: 1981-87 Currently: vice president of government relations for Arnel Development Co., Costa Mesa * Phil Anthony Years supervisor: 1977-80 Currently: local lobbyist working out of his home in Anaheim * Laurence Schmit Years supervisor: 1975-78 Currently: teaching eighth-grade math and science in Ophir, outside of Sacramento * Edison Miller Years supervisor: 1979-80 Currently: practicing law in San Jose