Q&A; : 'General' Ready to Take Charge One Last Time : Q&A;: Thomas F. Riley, 81, will be chairman in his final year on the Board of Supervisors. Nettlesome issues, including the El Toro base conversion, await him.

By KEVIN JOHNSON

Jan. 9, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

In an office crammed with mementos of visits with popes and presidents, Supervisor Thomas F. Riley has been preparing for his 20th and final year in Orange County politics.

For Riley, known as “the General,” the final chapter will be punctuated by his elevation Tuesday to the top position in county government, chairman of the Board of Supervisors.

He is 81 and represents sprawling South County. In December, Riley was hospitalized with a serious foot ailment. But during an interview last week, there was no talk of slowing down.

Riley said he hopes to tackle a range of issues this year, including charting the civilian conversion of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, allaying residents’ fears about increasing local crime and squaring a $3.5-billion budget in the face of a lagging recession.

Question: How is your health? And will it cause you to scale back your activities as board chairman this year?

Answer: “You know, I feel really good. I feel like my interest and excitement is there. I really don’t anticipate that my illnesses are going to interfere with doing a good job.

“As a matter of fact, I got out of the hospital a little earlier than they had anticipated. I’m being very conscientious in responding to the treatment (the doctors) have prescribed.”

QHow will your leadership style differ from outgoing Chairman Harriett M. Wieder?

A “I think I can explain this, but I don’t want to (offend) my colleagues. No. 1, I believe that my 30 years in the Marine Corps and the fact that I reached the rank of general is an indication that I am successful with employee relationships. I think this has been substantiated a great deal during this illness period when people have indicated their excitement about my being on this job.

“My style will be a little bit different. I’ll stick pretty close to the business at hand. . . . (Communications with the staff), that is something that has to be expanded. You have to satisfy yourself that the action that is being proposed is the appropriate one. With the leadership responsibility, you have to know more than that about it. That’s going to take more time. I have a responsibility to (other board members) that when I go down (to the weekly board meetings) I am prepared.”

QWhat would you like most to accomplish?

A “I have been in touch with staff people on projects that I think will make Orange County a better place to live. That’s my goal. (The civilian conversion of) El Toro is obviously an essential part of what we’re talking about.”

QEarlier this year, you said that the power struggle pitting the county against local cities for planning authority of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station was the saddest point in your career on the board. What have you learned from that experience?

A “Maybe it isn’t learning, but maybe it’s just re-confirming that people haven’t changed much. If you remember when Supervisor Gaddi Vasquez and I came out with our first (leadership) proposition, all of the South County people were apparently somewhat opposed to what was happening, but there was little interest in the rest of the county.

“As time went on, word got out--in one case--that there would be $1-million-a-year profit to all cities to have a major airport there. Eventually, all 31 cities began to put the heat on as to what should be done with El Toro.

“Cities like Anaheim and cities where tourism is a major part of their finances, (thought) another airport would be in their best interest. . . . These northern cities, some of them would probably not even know how to get to El Toro. All of the sudden, you know, it’s like they can get something for nothing. . . . Expeditious action would have been in everybody’s best interest.

“And, I might as well tell you right now that I think there is a damn good chance, a damn strong chance, that the Marines might not move (from El Toro to Miramar in San Diego County). They have so underestimated the cost of moving, by about $364 million from the initial costs, that I understand that (the total cost) is up to $1.72 billion. And our friend, the (endangered species) gnatcatcher, has reduced the amount of usable land.

“I’ll be surprised if the (federal base closure) committee doesn’t take another look at that and find that the best interest of the military and the Department of Defense would be to turn Miramar over to the public.”

QIn the face of increasing annexations and the erosion of the county’s constituent base, some city officials have said that the Board of Supervisors no longer wields the political influence it once did. How true is that perception?

A “I don’t think there is much truth there. We still have a budget of what, $3.5 billion. There are lots of things like health care, lots of other services that we provide. The need for Sheriff’s Department’s activities are still pretty great.

“I was kind of disappointed when I read the comment from the city of Irvine which said we were down to representing about 150,000 people. I’ve never really heard concerns like that expressed outside of that one time. Certainly, with 31 cities, there is less unincorporated area. We still provide a lot services. We still are a conduit to the Congress and Legislature.”

QThere has been much discussion about a confidence crisis in government as a whole. How much damage was done to the public’s trust in county government when former Supervisor Don R. Roth resigned last year and was later convicted on state ethics violations?

A “I don’t see community leaders taking a stand and screaming. It certainly isn’t a grass-roots thing. . . . All I’m pointing out is that I think it’s human nature for people to be excited about things that impact them or their pocketbooks. If it doesn’t, it’s pretty difficult to get them excited.”

QYou didn’t think that the Roth resignation and conviction was a major concern? (In the wake of Roth’s conviction, the county passed a new law that forbids county officials from accepting meals, trips or other gifts.)

A “Well, it certainly has impacted us in other ways, you know, with the gift ban. For instance, I usually have dinner with our Washington (lobbyist) who we pay. When he comes in, I can see nothing wrong with that. Last time, we went to dinner, I felt obligated to pay for my own.

“I’m going out to dinner with some friends tonight and I accepted on the basis that I pay for the deal. These are social things. I’m not exactly sure that’s what everybody’s talking about. But at the same time, in this day’s climate, I told (wife) Emma Jane that I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

QWhat will be the county’s strategy for protecting its local revenue as the state attempts to emerge from the recession?

A The budget “is just going to be one of those challenging things that we’re going to have to bite the bullet on.

“Certainly, the sheriff is going to be difficult. We can’t put them in an exempt area. Police and fire are important to the county community, but I think we have to (consider) that with what we do in other (government service) areas.

“There is nothing that I have done on this board that has given me more mail than when (after an additional $300,000 was found in the budget last year) we were able to keep the (county) libraries open.”

QHas the Orange County state legislative delegation been aggressive enough in protecting the county’s interests?

A “You know that I have a strong feeling of (state Sen.) Marian Bergeson. She does a lot for us and we utilize her a lot because of that response. I’m not sure we get the same amount of enthusiasm from the others as we get from her.

“I guess we’re all individuals. I suppose some feel that they may owe their allegiance to others who are interested in them being maintained in office. I have to believe there will be (improvement).”

QThe influx of new immigrants to Orange County has been cited as a major drain on local government resources. How well is the county responding to the needs of immigrants?

A “I think we are responding generally to the call from those who have a need, to a degree that I don’t know that we can continue it. There is much to be done, but we’re pretty much handicapped. It’s a federal issue. I guess you could say we could start cutting back on support activities, but is that humane? The fact that a baby out here can’t get the hospitalization it needs is not the baby’s fault.”

QWhat more can the county do to help allay residents’ concern about increasing violent crime?

A “The county has several gang programs in which significant effort is being made to understand the reasons why these things may be happening, trying to come up with a solution to the problem.

“Gee, I never thought I would see the day when this gang thing would arrive in Orange County and I was absolutely certain it wouldn’t arrive in the 5th District. All of a sudden, these things have come up. I think we have been aggressive in trying to come up with a solution.”