Civility Also at a Deficit Among O.C. Supervisors : Bankruptcy: Unrelenting pressure shows in display of hostility and division an aide likens to ‘Melrose Place.’

Showing the strain of the bankruptcy crisis, members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday publicly displayed an unusual level of rancor, hostility and internal discord.

Said one supervisor’s aide after the sniping had finished: “It’s like ‘Melrose Place.’ ”

Without the kissing.

Tensions among the board have increased lately, with members criticizing one another for their proposals on how to restructure county government or their positions--or lack of one--on Measure R, the proposed half-cent sales tax increase on the June 27 ballot.

“There’s a siege mentality,” Supervisor William G. Steiner said. “And in a siege mentality, it’s every person for themselves. It’s counterproductive.”

The bickering during Tuesday’s board meeting was most noticeable when Supervisor Roger R. Stanton, without mentioning any names, slammed a proposal by colleague Marian Bergeson to make the position of county supervisor a part-time job.

Stanton characterized it as an “off-the-wall, cotton-headed idea.”

“I’m just fed up with these ideas,” he said. “The idea is to solve the financial crisis, not philosophize.”

Following the meeting, Bergeson swung back: “Perhaps these proposals are scary to Mr. Stanton.”

Bergeson hasn’t been shy about tangling with her colleagues and criticizing their views, either. Last week, she assailed Supervisor Jim Silva for undermining the county’s bankruptcy recovery effort by coming out against Measure R. On Monday, Silva and Bergeson met to try to patch up their differences.

“We’ll see how long that lasts,” offered one government wag.

Such open display of bickering was virtually unheard of before the bankruptcy. But in the wake of the nation’s worst municipal collapse, the standards have changed. Gone are the days of unanimous votes and back-patting compliments.

“If anything, we used to get criticized for being too collegial,” Steiner said. “We have to find a middle ground. We’re all individuals with viewpoints, and we have to respect that.”

The turmoil is so bad that supervisors are now even challenging the time-honored tradition of “district prerogative,” in which the board defers decisions on a particular project or contract to the supervisor whose district is impacted.

Stanton criticized Bergeson’s selection Tuesday of an engineering firm to design a parking lot for John Wayne Airport, which is in Bergeson’s 5th District, saying he was “much more impressed” with the bid proposal of another firm.

“District prerogative is dead,” Stanton said after the meeting. “I’m not about to roll over on this district prerogative stuff.”

Stanton added that his remarks toward Bergeson’s part-time supervisor proposal were not personal.

“I just think it’s a dumb idea,” he said.

Some county observers say the public sparring is refreshing and might even lead to better public policy.

“I think before (the bankruptcy) they decided everything before the meeting and didn’t listen to the people at all,” said Carole Walters, an anti-tax activist and member of the Committees of Correspondence. “I think things have changed. . . . It’s an improvement. I don’t want them to make back-room deals.”

Others say the board’s divisions have always existed but are more noticeable and dramatic now because of the bankruptcy.

“They’re fighting for their political survival,” said William R. Mitchell of the Orange County chapter of Common Cause. “The stakes are so much higher now.”

Not only are supervisors showing more willingness to challenge one other, they also seem more willing to fend off criticism from the public, special interest groups and other elected officials.

With disdain in his voice, Board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez on Tuesday dismissed his critics as people who come “down from the mountain after a battle to shoot the wounded. . . . That’s the way some people are. They enjoy watching from a distance.”

Stanton agreed and issued a warning.

“Some of the folks who are coming down to shoot better stay away because there’s a big difference between being wounded and being disabled,” he said. “I’m not disabled, so you better keep an arm’s distance.”

Times correspondent Shelby Grad contributed to this report.

* LEGISLATIVE LOGGERHEADS: Assembly panel can’t find consensus on recovery bills. A18

* NEW PEAT MARWICK DEAL: County signs contract with accountant it still might sue. A18