O.C. Official Vasquez Will Not Seek Reelection : Politics: Decision not to run for another term as supervisor has nothing to do with county’s financial crisis, he says.

Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez, a onetime rising star in national Republican politics whose reputation was tarnished by the county’s financial crisis, announced Wednesday that he would not seek reelection in March so he can spend more time with family and friends.

The announcement by the 40-year-old Vasquez, Orange County’s highest-ranking Latino officeholder, comes amid voter outrage over the county’s bankruptcy and a proposed half-cent sales tax increase that officials say is necessary to bail out the beleaguered county. Residents will vote on the tax issue June 27.

But Vasquez said Wednesday that his decision has nothing to do with the bankruptcy, Measure R or predictions that he would face a grueling reelection effort.

“We would be having this discussion today regardless of the circumstances,” Vasquez said, adding, however, that the strains of the county’s financial calamity have taken a toll on him. “I love public service, but I could do without the politics of it. The long hours have had a substantial fatigue factor.”

Vasquez said the commitments of public life have consumed all his free time over the years, forcing him to neglect friendships and quality time with his wife and teen-age son. That was the driving force behind his decision, which he has been debating for more than a year, he said.

Vasquez said he remains philosophical about the personal attacks he’s suffered because of the bankruptcy ordeal. Appointed in 1987, Vasquez is one of three remaining supervisors who were in office when Orange County declared the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history Dec. 6.

“I learned a long time ago that in the business of public service you take the criticism and accept criticism as part of the procedure,” he said, adding that it is now time to turn over the reins of power to someone else.

Vasquez said he will remain in office until his term expires in December, 1996. But it remains unclear what Vasquez, a former police officer who continues to patrol the streets in a reserve capacity, will do in the future.

Those closest to the supervisor say Vasquez has been talking privately for months about leaving public life behind--at least for now. Vasquez refused to rule out a return to politics someday.

Supervisor William G. Steiner said he, too, would not rule out another foray into public life for Vasquez, who has twice spoken at national Republican conventions and often hobnobbed with the likes of Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Richard Nixon, whom Vasquez idolized.

Despite Vasquez’s claims to the contrary, some observers believe he chose to announce his decision before the Measure R vote to help its passage.

Polls show voters are resentful about top officials’ handling of the fiscal mess, and may oppose Measure R to punish them.

“I think it’s a noble decision on his part,” said Paul Nussbaum, chief adviser to county CEO William J. Popejoy, who has said repeatedly in the past that Measure R has a better chance of passing if all the supervisors who were in office at the time of the bankruptcy step down. “Obviously, it was a very tough decision for Gaddi to make,” Nussbaum said. “He’s putting the interest of the public above his own, and that’s to be commended.”