ORANGE COUNTY IN BANKRUPTCY : Wanted: Tireless Manager With Thick Skin for Temporary Position : Search: Many names floated as possible replacements for top county administrator, but not all of them even want the job. An interest in crises is a requirement.

The job requires a tough, capable administrator willing to work under extreme stress. Hours: Long. The financial situation: Critical. Must lay off people, lots of them, and downsize operations dramatically. Survival skills are required to deal with politicians whose careers are in jeopardy.

With the demotion of County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider, the Board of Supervisors is looking for a temporary crisis manager to steer Orange County out of the worst municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Though the board is at a very early stage in its search for a new administrator, some names were being floated around the Hall of Administration on Tuesday, as supervisors delved into the process of selecting an interim executive to serve for up to six months.

Among those mentioned as possible contenders were Cliff Allenby, head of the California Building Industry Assn.; Clifford Graves, director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and former county administrative officer in San Diego; and Gary Hunt, a high-ranking executive for the Irvine Co.

County supervisors also tossed around the names of Jan Mittermeier, the manager of John Wayne Airport; Hugh Hewitt, an Orange County attorney and political commentator; John Crean, a Republican activist who owns Fleetwood Enterprises in Riverside, a mobile home manufacturer; and George Argyros, president of Arnel Development in Newport Beach.

Stan Oftelie, the chief executive of the Orange County Transportation Authority, has been mentioned in the past as a replacement for Schneider.

There was even some talk this week about contacting George P. Shultz, secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan, and George Deukmejian, the former governor of California.

Many of those on the early list of contenders could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Allenby said he has not been contacted by anyone from the county yet, and neither has Graves, who said it would take a very substantial offer to lure him away from overseeing redevelopment efforts in San Francisco.

“I’m not sure I want to get into that situation down there,” Graves said of the bankruptcy.

Supervisor Marian Bergeson already has contacted Sanford C. Sigoloff, a prominent Los Angeles businessman, to solicit his ideas about how to maneuver the county out of the fiscal morass. Bergeson and Sigoloff might meet as early as next month.

Sigoloff, 64, was Gov. Pete Wilson’s nominee last year for state superintendent of schools. When his prospects for that position were dashed, he withdrew from consideration and accepted an appointment to the State Board of Education. He is known as a turnaround specialist for unprofitable corporations.

“This is an exciting opportunity for a crisis manager,” Sigoloff said Tuesday. “I have a full plate, but this is in my back yard, and Orange County is one of the most prosperous areas of the state. I would review the opportunity if presented with it.”

Sigoloff said the county has sent out some feelers in his direction, but no one has asked him about the terms and conditions it would take to lure him into county service. He said he would require a lot of autonomy, and the authority necessary to carry out what he termed a governmental “revolution.”

Whoever is picked must have extensive knowledge of finance and government to grapple with the county’s outstanding debts and a $172-million budget shortfall through the end of this fiscal year, not to mention the deficits the county faces in future years.

Two months into the crisis, the county has eliminated about 700 jobs and ordered less than $50 million in spending cuts. Financial advisers say there is no way the county can hope to make $1 billion in debt payments due next summer.

A strong leader is necessary, the advisers say, to persuade the holders of that debt to accept later payments or refinancing--or else fight the matter out in Bankruptcy Court. Credible recovery plans must be drafted now to show that the county can meet its financial obligations later.

The person selected also will have to deal with privatization of government services, an idea favored by some members of the Board of Supervisors, particularly Roger R. Stanton. Sales of assets such as John Wayne Airport and county landfills are up for discussion as well.

“We need a fireman to come in here and put out the fire,” said Buck Johns, a real estate developer and member of the conservative Lincoln Club of Orange County. Johns wants the county to immediately appoint a powerful chief executive who would replace Tom Uram, the director of the county’s Health Care Agency who was named Monday as an interim top administrator.

“Mr. Uram is sitting at a desk processing mail,” Johns said. “He’s not the guy to be restructuring Orange County. . . . It’s time to go and get the best guy available and give him the powers” the supervisors gave Thomas W. Hayes, a former state treasurer the county hired as its chief financial adviser. “We need a gorilla sitting in that seat.”

Times staff writer Greg Johnson contributed to this story.