Orange County in Bankruptcy : Guilty Pleas Could Have Effects That Reach Statewide : Repercussions: Some say Citron’s action could affect the outcome of Measure R and the future of several supervisors.

It might seem a fitting conclusion to a dramatic story--the downfall of a flawed public official, an exhausting tragedy finally played out.

But the guilty plea Thursday by former Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron could send political ripples throughout the state.

Although a number of politicians said Citron’s dramatic admission of guilt will have little bearing on events as Orange County tries to pull out of bankruptcy, some predict it could color the outcome of Measure R, the half-cent sales tax hike on the June 27 ballot.

It could also affect the future of current members of the Board of Supervisors and spur interest in a state takeover.

“I hope this in some ways reduces some of the anger and frustration that the public feels over the bankruptcy,” said Stu Mollrich, the political consultant who is shepherding the Yes on Measure R campaign. “It demonstrates that action is being taken and that the people responsible are being made to pay. It is our hope that as a result of this, people will focus on solutions to the problem and see Measure R as a way to solve the problem.”

“This entire matter has to be put behind us,” added Dana Reed, a Measure R supporter who helped push a successful half-cent sales tax for transportation projects in 1990. “Measure R is part of that goal. Bringing Bob Citron to justice is part of that goal. I think it’s fair to say that’s all intertwined.”

But opponents of the sales tax increase shrug off Citron’s guilty plea as insignificant to the outcome of the Measure R, which is trailing in most opinion polls.

“I don’t think it means much because I don’t think Measure R is going to pass anyway,” said Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove), one of the ballot measure’s most vocal critics.

“One man pleading guilty isn’t going to alter the conditions of anything that’s going on unless he has millions and millions of dollars laying around to bail the county out,” said Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange), who is running for supervisor next year.

Even some neutral observers suggested that the impact wouldn’t be great. “I don’t think this changes Measure R at all,” said Harvey Englander, a Huntington Beach political consultant.

George Urch, who was chief of staff for former Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove), agreed. “One could make the argument that the people in power in the county are doing all of the things they should be to clean house,” he said. “But you might have another group saying, ‘See, they’re all corrupt.’ It’s probably a wash.”

Urch and Englander said, however, that Citron’s guilt does not bode well for the three county supervisors in office when the financial debacle unfolded last year. In the political realm, his admission of guilt could whip up public sentiment against the lawmakers who were supposed to be overseeing his investment strategy.

“I think citizens will smell blood and say, ‘Now let’s get the Board of Supervisors,’ ” said Urch. “They’ll either recall them or get them the next election.”

Some suggested it could be even worse, noting that Citron might turn witness for the state and provide information against a wide variety of county officials.

In his agreement to plead guilty to six felony counts, Citron pledged to cooperate with the ongoing investigation into the county’s bankruptcy, authorities said.

“I think it is very possible” that Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi “could be going after the supervisors,” said Mark Thompson, the spokesman for Citizens Against the Tax Increase, an anti-Measure R group. “They were charged with overseeing the funds Citron borrowed. I still can’t quite imagine that the supervisors allowed this to happen without having a greater amount of inside knowledge.”

The potential effect of Citron’s guilty plea was hard to gauge in the state Capitol, but Englander predicted it will intensify the drumbeat for a trustee to take over operation of the county’s finances.

Sen. Quentin L. Kopp (I-San Francisco), a vocal participant on the state Senate special committee on the Orange County bankruptcy, rejected that notion.

But he suggested that Citron’s plea could be snapped up by opponents of reform measures, who could point to Citron’s guilt as proof that he was simply one bad apple.

Contributing to today’s coverage of former County Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron’s guilty pleas were staff writers Eric Bailey, Anna Cekola, Ken Ellingwood, Matt Lait, Mark Platte, H.G. Reza, Lisa Richardson, Diane Seo, Debora Vrana, Michael G. Wagner, Peter M. Warren, Jodi Wilgoren, Chris Woodyard and correspondents Shelby Grad and Steve Scheibal. Also contributing were photographers Robert Lachman, Al Schaben, Geraldine Wilkins, Don Bartletti and Craig Wallace Chapman and researcher April Jackson.