Aide to Wieder Accused of a Conflict of Interest

A top aide to Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Harriett M. Wieder has been accused in court documents of a conflict of interest in serving as a director of a transit company that has an exclusive license to serve county-owned John Wayne Airport.

But the aide, Sandra Ward, Wieder’s chief of staff, said she resigned from the transit firm--Ground Systems Inc. of Anaheim--by letter mailed from her home last week. She said she had attended one company board meeting, held in September.

Ward said she didn’t know about the conflict allegations, which were filed about three weeks ago in a complex bankruptcy case involving Ground Systems.

“I had obtained a memo from county counsel’s office stating that I have no conflict, but the more I thought about it, I decided I should not do something that might be perceived wrongly or could harm my boss,” she said.

Ward said Wieder had approved her role in advance. Wieder could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Other supervisors said they would not allow such outside activity by their staffers.

“Would I prohibit a member of my staff from serving on a board of directors of a company that does business with the county? Absolutely,” said Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez. “It’s not even discussable.”

Supervisor William G. Steiner said: “I think it’s a violation of the county ethics code. I think I’ve given a clear message in my office, so it would never come up.”

The Board of Supervisors last month adopted an ethics code that, among other things, prohibits board members and county employees from engaging in any business or having a financial interest that conflicts with their duties or might “impair independence of judgment or action.”

According to the court documents filed by stockholders and another firm seeking to buy Ground Systems, Ward was one of five people on a slate of new, paid directors of the firm to replace the previous board--at a rate of $600 per quarterly meeting and $175 per hour for any time spent on board business.

Ground Systems, doing business as Airport Coach, has an exclusive license from the Board of Supervisors to provide bus service between John Wayne Airport and various hotels in Anaheim and Buena Park.

In January, 1992, a federal bankruptcy judge appointed attorney Theodor C. Albert of Newport Beach as trustee to oversee Ground Systems Inc. But airport officials say the company has performed well despite the bankruptcy and is in good standing.

“Mrs. Ward’s standing as a (company) board member could be construed as a conflict of interest by any future competitive bid applicants for the John Wayne Airport license,” attorneys for current stockholders and former company officers stated in court briefs challenging Albert’s slate of directors.

“The resume of Sandra Ward indicates experience on various boards of directors/advisers for charitable nonprofit organizations or political organizations,” the court documents state. But “there is no apparent experience in any type of private business (or) industry at a management level. Her current position as Chief of Staff to an Orange County supervisor does not warrant compensation at a rate of $200 per hour nor does she have any experience in the ground transportation business.”

In the court documents, the former directors and stockholders accuse company executive Ron Clear, who was also installed on the board by Albert during the bankruptcy proceedings, of using his position to hire and pay a staff accountant. That accountant already works for a certified public accounting firm hired to perform impartial, audited financial statements. Clear is also a principal in that firm, court documents show.

Ward said she knows Clear because he has been a YMCA camp counselor for her children. She said Clear asked her to serve on Ground Systems’ board.

Albert, the trustee, denied any wrongdoing Tuesday and said many of the allegations contained in the court documents are inaccurate. For example, he said, Clear became a principal at the CPA firm of Squar and Clarke after it withdrew from its role as auditor at Ground Systems.

“I think it’s a good slate,” Albert said. He was interviewed Tuesday before it was known that Ward had resigned. He couldn’t be reached for comment later Tuesday.

A court hearing on the appointment of new directors and their scheduled meeting fees has been postponed so that Albert and opponents of his slate can try to resolve the dispute.

Clear did not return telephone calls Wednesday.

The majority stockholder who has objected to the installation of Ward, Clear and others is Chuck Allee, a political associate of former Orange County Supervisor Ralph Clark and former Anaheim City Manager Keith Murdoch.

Gray Line, which has also objected to the slate and has purchased shares in the company, stated in an affidavit that it had the assistance of Allee and Murdoch in becoming familiar with Ground Systems.