O.C. IN BANKRUPTCY : Voices

Among the reactions to the crisis in Orange County:

“At the minimum we will hold hearings in Washington on all the facts of the matter. The first line of attack, obviously, is Sacramento, because these investments were permitted under a special change in the law . . . arranged by the county treasurer.”

--Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), a former securities lawyer

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“It’s quite clear . . . that the state of California or Orange County is the entity that should proceed in some sort of action to protect the assets and work out a way to pay obligations over time.”

--Mike McGill, chief of staff, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

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“There’s nothing legislatively (in Sacramento) that can be done right now. . . . You couldn’t get a Mother’s Day resolution through right now (because of the speakership fight in the Assembly).”

--State Sen. John Lewis (R-Orange)

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“As far as the children are concerned, I have a feeling that the county will step up to the plate and take care of these matters. . . . Municipalities, they can lose money and whatnot, but children . . . the whole state and our community take special interest in the lives of children.”

--James D. Daily, attorney for 8-year-old Cameron Young, who was mauled by a dog and whose trust fund was invested in the county pool as part of liability settlement

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“We are monitoring it by the moment to see what they’re doing. . . . We have not been kept informed. We don’t know all of the intricacies of what’s going on. That’s part of the problem. If they would keep us informed, as major investors, maybe we could be of more assistance to them. I’m just trying to pick up bits and pieces where I can.”

--Irvine City Manager Paul O. Brady Jr., head of the county’s city managers association

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“What’s happening is everybody is looking around and saying, ‘What do we do?’ . . . If you have your money in a bank and the bank isn’t there, what do you do? It’s not every day that we have something like this.”

--Costa Mesa City Atty. Thomas Kathe

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“At this point we don’t have a definitive answer what role the attorney general’s office can and should take. Until we have all the facts and we have a clear picture of what precisely the state’s posture can and should be, any offhand comments could cause more damage than good.”

--Dave Puglia, spokesman for state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren

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“We will assist Orange County in analyzing the situation to identify the alternatives necessary so that Orange County can bring its finances back into solvency.”

--Gov. Pete Wilson

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“Bankruptcy doesn’t mean close up shop, and the county can’t do that. So if it’s a maneuver to buy time and evaluate options for handling the portfolio, then it might not be bad. I just don’t know.”

--Laguna Niguel City Manager Tim Casey