O.C. Board Picks Popejoy to Fix Crisis

The embattled Orange County Board of Supervisors, under growing pressure to choose an interim chief executive officer without further delay, turned Friday to William J. Popejoy, a former American Savings & Loan chairman who had offered his services to the bankrupt county for free.

The selection of Popejoy, 56, of Newport Beach was announced by the supervisors after a lengthy interview process that prompted critics to accuse the board of being indecisive at a time when the county is in urgent need of strong leadership to help it weather the Dec. 6 bankruptcy.

The supervisors’ unanimous choice of Popejoy, a former president of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., surprised county insiders and others who had watched the supervisors appear to veer in recent days toward first one candidate and then another.

The newly created position is likely to come with greater authority than that previously granted to County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider, who was demoted last month after supervisors complained of his lack of leadership during the crisis.

Popejoy is best known for the four stormy years that he spent as head of American Savings & Loan, once the nation’s largest thrift, before it failed in 1988. Popejoy tried without success to rescue the financial institution from a mountain of bad loans inherited from his predecessor.

Almost until the final hours, sources said, Popejoy had ranked behind two other candidates--corporate turnaround specialist Sanford C. Sigoloff and B. J. Rone, a corporate rescuer from Dallas--for the high-profile, six-month job.

After the decision, Board of Supervisors Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez said Popejoy’s Orange County residency and knowledge of the county had helped tip the scale in his favor.

“We evaluated the factors of experience, knowledge and, in particular, his knowledge of Orange County,” Vasquez said, adding that Popejoy has extensive corporate background in the county.

Popejoy’s offer to work at no cost was not a factor, Vasquez said. Sigoloff’s rate of $500 an hour had raised eyebrows, however. Rone said he would charge $275 an hour for his services.

Popejoy, who returned to the county’s Hall of Administration for a second interview Friday, told supervisors he could start in a matter of days, Vasquez said. Popejoy could not be reached for comment.

Unlike Sigoloff and Rone, who had said they would need to bring in outside help to assist them in the formidable task of reorganizing the county, Popejoy told the supervisors he believed there was enough talent within the county government to accomplish the task, Vasquez said.

“I liked his overall style,” the board chairman said. “He approaches things head-on.”

Supervisor William G. Steiner, who had held out in recent days against a growing board majority for Sigoloff, said Popejoy “presented us with a strategic plan that was impressive.”

“In the best of all worlds, the selection of a CEO should be done with deliberation, not desperation,” said Steiner, adding that the latter, however, “was the sort of atmosphere we were working from.”

Supervisor Marian Bergeson said: “I think everyone knows my choice was Sigoloff, (although) I think (Popejoy) was the consensus candidate. He has a strong background and understanding of the problem here.”

His skills, Bergeson said, can help the county work with a vast number of attorneys assigned to sort out the collapsed county investment pool, and also help with impending budgets.

Steiner also noted Popejoy’s Orange County connections, saying that they had figured in his selection. The new interim CEO, he said, “is committed to Orange County. . . . His motives are pure.”

The appointment met with sighs of relief among county department heads and employees, who had expressed fear about what appeared to be the imminent appointment of Sigoloff, a corporate turnaround specialist with a reputation for slashing budgets and work forces.

Sigoloff was widely viewed as the front-runner until mid-week; according to county sources, at least three supervisors were prepared to vote for him at that point but demurred because they hoped to find a candidate whom they could support unanimously.

Tired of two weeks of wranglings with the county, Sigoloff sent a letter Friday to Bergeson, saying he would withdraw his name if a decision wasn’t made by 5 p.m.

“The delay, coupled with the continuing absence of a job description . . . have raised new concerns for me,” Sigoloff said in the letter. “Thus if no definitive word is received from the Board of Supervisors by 5 p.m. today, I intend to withdraw my name from consideration.”

Sigoloff could not be reached for comment.

“We just got tired of waiting and said forget it,” said Gary Segall, a former managing director of Sigoloff & Associates, when reached after the county’s decision.

Rone could not be reached for comment.

Social Services Agency Director Larry Leaman said that with Popejoy’s appointment, the county can finally get on with the difficult task of coping with the crisis.

“It’s another hurdle in the process that’s now been jumped,” Leaman said. “The decision’s been made and the speculation can now stop.”

Leaman’s agency has been busily preparing a training manual on the workings of government and the myriad funding restrictions and mandates his agency must comply with. Leaman said he’s looking forward to sharing it with Popejoy.

“I don’t know him, so I view him without any biases and look forward to meeting with him and working with him,” he said.

“Wonderful!,” said Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi when he learned of the appointment. “. . . I personally think it was an excellent choice based on everything I know about Mr. Popejoy.”

William J. Popejoy