Wieder Ends Final Term as Board Leader : Supervisors: The outgoing chairman took credit for raising awareness in social issues from health care to gang violence.

Ending her third and last term as head of Orange County government, Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder Tuesday took credit for raising awareness in a myriad of social issues from shepherding a new health-care policy to addressing increased gang violence.

Wieder, the outgoing chairman who will retire from the Board of Supervisors this year, described her yearlong administration as a “great year,” despite the county’s unprecedented budget problems and the devastating fires that ravaged Laguna Beach in October.

“The challenges that once polarized this county have become the motivators for unity for cities and the county to work together,” Wieder said in an outgoing address. “What we have witnessed is the recognition that each and every community in Orange County faces similar social and economic challenges, whether we live in Santa Ana, San Clemente, Huntington Beach, Anaheim or Fullerton.”

The wide-ranging talk was followed by an ovation from the crowded chamber as a teary-eyed Wieder clasped hands with political rival Supervisor Roger R. Stanton.

In her last action as chairman, Wieder turned over board leadership to Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, also serving his final year in county office. Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez will serve as vice chairman.

Largely a ceremonial title, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors serves as the county’s chief spokesperson and conducts the board’s weekly meetings. The title rotates annually among the five members.

As is the tradition in the annual transfer of power, the outgoing chairman highlighted the year’s events which, Wieder said, emphasized a “demand for change” in how local government responds to the needs of residents.

Wieder cited November’s countywide summit to address the alarming rise in gang violence as an example of how government attempted to answer the public’s concerns.

“The outrage of our communities over the increase in youth gang violence and the subsequent call for gang intervention . . . was a wake-up call for local government,” Wieder said.

About 1,000 people attended the Nov. 30 summit in Anaheim where students, educators, law officers and parents called for help to deal with the staggering increases in local gang-related deaths and gang membership.

Since the summit, the board has approved a $2-million plan called TARGET to send special strike teams of police, prosecutors and probation officers to the county’s most gang-plagued neighborhoods.

Last year, Wieder said, the county also responded to the significant health-care needs of low-income residents.

Under the OPTIMA (Orange Prevention, Treatment and Intervention Medical Assistance) program approved last year, county officials hope to provide more efficient health care to the 225,000 county residents who are eligible for Medi-Cal benefits.

OPTIMA will attempt to attract a broader participation of physicians by streamlining paperwork necessary for treatment of Medi-Cal patients.

By 1995, the state would provide OPTIMA with a set amount of money for each Medi-Cal-eligible patient and OPTIMA would contract with hospitals, community clinics and physicians to provide primary health-care services.

The program’s promise, Wieder said, is in a more efficient distribution of health services for indigent residents that could “save millions of dollars” in public funds. Currently, about $500 million a year is spent on Medi-Cal in Orange County.

Not included in Wieder’s speech, however, were mention of some particularly controversial points in the Huntington Beach-based supervisor’s term.

Wieder has fended off criticism for receiving a $29,000 county car, especially in light of a record of costly vehicle mishaps that far exceeds that of any other supervisor.

Last year, Stanton had reportedly attempted to block Wieder’s move to the chairmanship in an attempt to allow himself an additional year at the helm of county government. Stanton has denied such an action, but the unsuccessful move later prompted Wieder to compare Stanton’s style of management to that of Adolf Hitler.

Perhaps the most important policy decision facing Orange County--the conversion of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station--will be left for another administration’s leadership, Wieder said Tuesday.

With communities still at odds over how the conversion process will be directed, Wieder promised that “Supervisor Riley’s leadership and commitment to the residents of the county will ensure a productive and successful . . . outcome.”