LAFCO Chief to Head Similar Agency in L.A.

The head of the agency that oversees incorporations in Orange County was named Wednesday to lead the corresponding agency in Los Angeles County.

James J. Colangelo, 34, will take over the reins of the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission at the beginning of 1994 when the current executive officer, Ruth Benell, retires.

Colangelo, who has led the Orange County LAFCO since 1988, was one of nine people who responded to the Los Angeles agency’s advertisement in mid-September.

He had been Orange County LAFCO’s assistant executive officer for two years before taking the top post, and his experience gave him the edge over other applicants, said Ed Edelman, a board member and Los Angeles County supervisor.

LAFCOs are established by the state to rule on incorporations and annexations.

In the 1980s, many residents in the Santa Clarita Valley and Las Virgenes areas accused the Los Angeles County agency of being obstructionist and of attempting to discourage or block cityhood efforts. Benell was often the target of such criticism.

During Colangelo’s five years as head of the Orange County LAFCO, five cities incorporated: Dana Point, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills and Lake Forest.

Most recently, Colangelo launched a study to judge how well special districts in Orange County provide water, sewer and park services. The effort began in July as the state cut revenue to local government and as reports of profligate spending and apparent conflicts of interest surfaced in Orange County’s most powerful special district, the Santa Margarita Water District in Mission Viejo.

Some board members of the special districts accused the Orange County LAFCO of encroaching on the authority of the agencies in conducting the study that would consolidate several districts.

“I don’t feel LAFCO should come in and tell the people what to do,” said Bonnie Streeter, a member of the Capistrano Beach County Water District board, of Colangelo’s study. “The special districts were started for the people. The people asked for the special districts.”

Colangelo said that even with the study on incorporating special districts, “it’s slowed down here, and I need new challenges.”