Wedaa Fails to Secure His Seat on Air Board

Orange County’s representative on the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Henry Wedaa, failed to get enough votes Thursday night to secure his reelection.

The Yorba Linda city councilman, who has sat on the board for six years, garnered 19 of 30 votes cast by the county’s mayors at a meeting of the county chapter of the League of California Cities.

The action means that the panel will continue to vote on candidates, including Wedaa, for the seat until someone gets votes from mayors representing at least two-thirds of the county’s population.

Wedaa, a moderate Republican, has gained both fans and enemies during his tenure on the board. Wedaa’s foes see his potential ouster as a victory for businesses smarting from strict emissions rules.

Under Wedaa, the air quality district “has become a business-killing machine in Southern California,” said Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove), who along with conservative Sen. John Lewis (R-Orange) led legislative efforts to change voting requirements that would ease Wedaa’s ouster.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District “is one of the regulatory agencies responsible for much of the recession we’re in right now,” Lewis said, asserting that strict regulations force businesses out of the state.

Wedaa has attributed the moves to oust him not to his stand on air quality issues but rather to a chasm in ideology between him and arch-conservatives in Orange County.

“I continue to seek a moderate approach to air quality issues,” Wedaa said. “This approach will always make enemies at either extreme of the issue.”

Wedaa has said his role on the district board is to carry out actions ordered by the federal and state governments to improve air quality in Southern California--more of an exercise in civic responsibility than an environmental agenda.

But Lewis said Wedaa is “a rubber stamp for bureaucrats and liberal environmentalists.”

“I think Orange County should have someone that better reflects Orange County’s point of view,” Lewis said.

Wedaa’s proponents praise his work and willingness to promote clean-air standards.

“Mr. Wedaa has been a key leader in bringing the business and environmental community together to solve our air pollution problems,” said Edwin C. Laird, chairman of the Small Business Coalition, in a statement pleading with businesses to urge mayors to vote for Wedaa.

Robert Breton, mayor of Mission Viejo and a Wedaa supporter, said Wedaa “is far more effective because of his middle-of-the-road perspective.” He added, “I’m appalled at the vendetta . . . being waged against Mr. Wedaa.”

Before the new state rules were passed, a board incumbent could retain the job unless a challenger managed to gain a two-thirds vote, a task that Lewis argued gave Wedaa an “appointment for life.” The new law mandates that any candidate for a board seat, whether incumbent or challenger, must get at least two-thirds of the vote from mayors, and those mayors must represent at least two-thirds of the county’s population.

In recent years, no Wedaa challenger has gotten close to garnering the required two-thirds vote.

Citing that history, South Coast air quality officials and several Orange County politicians have expressed concern that the post will be left vacant unless an overwhelmingly popular candidate can be found. Others say the post won’t stay empty long.

“Eventually, if they have a stalemate, then Hank will have to step down and the position will be vacant,” said Lewis, who is optimistic about finding another candidate. Without Wedaa in the running, another person could “step forward and be a consensus candidate.”

Costa Mesa City Councilman Peter F. Buffa, who tried to dislodge Wedaa in a 1992 election, received 10 votes for Wedaa’s seat in the first round of voting and 9 votes the second time. Wedaa got 19 votes both times.

If Wedaa fails to gets two-thirds of the votes before March 1, his term will expire. The next likely vote will be on Jan. 15.