68 Apply for Transportation Agency Board Job : Traffic: Among the contenders for the public-at-large seat are attorney Sarah L. Catz of South Laguna and Irvine Planning Commissioner Scott Peotter.

Ask people to help solve Orange County’s daunting traffic problems and what do you get?

Sixty-eight people who are competing to fill a vacancy on the powerful Orange County Transportation Authority board. The agency oversees more than $500 million in spending on traffic improvements and sets the county’s highway and transit priorities.

Among the most identifiable contenders who filed by the 5 p.m. deadline on Thursday were attorney Sarah L. Catz of South Laguna, a staunch rail transit advocate who currently serves as an alternate OCTA board member, and Scott Peotter, an Irvine Planning Commission member and anti-gay rights political activist who is a rail transit skeptic.

Catz is the alternate for Dana W. Reed, the Costa Mesa attorney who currently serves as the representative of the public at large on the OCTA board of directors. The board also consists of four county supervisors, six city council members or mayors, and the non-voting chief of the Caltrans office in Orange County.

Reed touched off the mad scramble for his seat by recently announcing his resignation, effective Aug. 1. He said wants to spend more time on his law business.

Catz has the support of Reed and several other transportation officials, while Peotter has garnered most of his support so far from conservative elected officials, including state Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange) and Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange).

Others familiar to transportation insiders include Lester Berriman of Irvine, an engineer and director of Drivers for Highway Safety, a group that opposes rail transit and car-pool lanes; Donald L. Fox, an engineer and former Brea mayor; Trent R. Harris of Huntington Beach, a police supervisor and member of the Measure M Citizens Oversight Committee; Reed L. Royalty of San Juan Capistrano, a government affairs consultant; John Sisker of Huntington Beach, a city planner for Orange; Fred Smoller of Orange, a Chapman University political science professor; Mark Tomich of Irvine, a city planner; Charles C. Wilson of Lake Forest, who was an aide to former U.S. Sen. John Seymour (R-Calif.); Greg Winterbottom of Villa Park, former chief of Consolidated Transportation Services, a OCTA transit division for the disabled, and Wayne A. Ybarra, an Irvine attorney.

Others seeking the post are Bauman Abassis, a Costa Mesa engineer; Augustus C. Ajawara, a Mission Viejo engineer; John L. Allday, a Placentia developer; Gary Alstot, a Costa Mesa engineer; Maurice E. Amoon of Anaheim, a Hughes Aircraft Co. project manager; Lee F. Aubel of Brea, a retired engineer; Kathleen Beard of Anaheim Hills, a real estate consultant; George Beidler of Laguna Niguel, a computer programmer; Joseph R. Bjorndahl of Brea, a former grand juror; Bart E. Blakesley of Garden Grove, a communications consultant; Harlan Bowitz, a Placentia engineer; and Borbet S. Bryan, a former Laguna Hills business owner.

Also applying for the office are James T. Burton of Newport Beach, a retired aerospace executive and former grand jury chairman; Ken Caines, a Santa Ana management consultant; Michael S. Cha, a Mission Viejo Army reserve officer; Gary DiSano, a Newport Beach business owner; Faul N. Fernandez, an El Toro engineer; Jill Forbath of Irvine, artistic director of the South Orange County Community Theatre; Charles L. Friedersdorf of Costa Mesa, a retired human resources expert; Eddie James Gage, a Fullerton businessman; David L George, a Santa Ana accountant; Allen Goody, a Newport Beach engineer; and Lawerence J. Guzzetta, a Lake Forest advertising executive.

Applicants also included Frank J. Haider, an Irvine engineer; Jeffrey T. Haspell, a Santa Ana construction manager; John Hill, a Fullerton hotel manager; Raymond P. Hughes, a Santa Ana engineer; Leonard L. Isbell, a Huntington Beach engineer; Pease Jeffries, an Irvine attorney; Pter J. Kahrilas, a Placentia engineer; Richard King, of Villa Park, a retired aerospace engineer; Ray Knauerhaze, a Laguna Niguel engineer; Alane Kremen, a Costa Mesa sales executive; and Vin Kumar, an Anaheim engineer.

Added to the list are Fred Larijani, an Anaheim human resources manager; Michael E. Manning of Yorba Linda, a Hughes Aircraft department manager; John McLaughlin, a Fullerton mediator and consultant; Fredrick W. Minter, a Placentia quality assurance manager; Elvin W. Moon, a Los Angeles construction consultant who may not qualify because he is not registered to vote in Orange County; Al Morelli, a Costa Mesa engineer; James J. Notarian, a La Habra ad agency owner; Gary W. Pomeroy, a Corona del Mar businessman; Leslie J. Racey of Irvine, occupation not listed; Faye F. Revers, retired, of Mission Viejo; and Richard Rosenberg, a Garden Grove business manager.

In addition, filers included Carol A. Sanders of Lake Forest, the administrator for the Moulton Niguel Water District; Michael J. Simber, an Irvine engineer; Michael P. Simondi, a Newport Beach real estate attorney; William R. Smith, a Tustin business executive; Steven S. Tayanipour, an Irvine engineer; Anthony Trujillo, a Tustin engineer; Richard K. Wagner, a Santa Ana businessman; Gordon Walker, an Anaheim engineer; Jacques Warshauer, a Long Beach businessman; David Young, a Laguna Beach engineer and builder; and Dianna S. Zurbuchen of Orange, occupation unlisted.

The OCTA board will screen the applicants on July 12. Each board member will name three finalists. Interviews will be conducted in public at OCTA’s July 26 meeting, and the board will also vote on the final choice the same day.

OCTA mailed more than 10,000 letters inviting people to apply.