Popejoy Quits as O.C. Chief, Cites Board Meddling

Orange County Chief Executive Officer William J. Popejoy, who has spent the past five months trying to put the bankrupt county on the path to recovery, abruptly announced his resignation Wednesday, saying his bosses had become so meddlesome that he could no longer do his job.

“This decision is based on recent actions by the Board of Supervisors to re-involve themselves in details of the county’s administration and management of the county’s bankruptcy crisis,” said Popejoy, who--as a condition for taking the job in February--had demanded greater day-to-day autonomy and authority than his predecessor, who failed to head off the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

“I think they want to go back to business as usual. It’s a recipe for disaster,” said Popejoy, a retired business executive from Newport Beach who offered his services for free and has declined to accept a salary from the county. “They have pretty short memories.”

Popejoy’s sudden resignation--which takes effect July 31, or four months before the expiration of his contract--capped an often stormy relationship between the highly visible executive and his bosses, but also redirects the spotlight at the supervisors, forcing them to develop quick plans to find a replacement and proceed with the county’s bankruptcy recovery effort.

Looming in the background is the possibility of a state takeover.

Gov. Pete Wilson, a strong supporter of Popejoy, said Wednesday he was saddened and disappointed by the news. He criticized the supervisors for trying to curtail Popejoy’s authority and said he will be closely monitoring what transpires next in Orange County.

“I think it was a mistake not to give him [the] authority” needed to do the job, Wilson said. “I think the board has to understand, they are on the spot. They are going to have to do some very unpleasant things as [Popejoy] was prepared to do.”

Although Popejoy and his team of advisers had made strides in cutting budgets and pushing emergency legislation past unfriendly Sacramento lawmakers, the county is not much closer now to figuring out how to pay its $1.7-billion debt than it was when Popejoy first took the job.

The linchpin of the county’s recovery plan--a 10-year increase in the local sales tax from 7.75% to 8.25%--was soundly defeated by Orange County voters in a special election June 27.

Popejoy’s resignation was a disappointment for some, but a cause for celebration by others.

“I think this is a very sad day for Orange County,” said Sheriff Brad Gates. “It’s a tremendous loss. I think it probably makes it much more difficult for the county to move ahead under one leadership.”

“I am disappointed because I thought Bill Popejoy was doing a good job of leading a disgruntled army,” said Sen. William A. Craven (R-Oceanside), co-chairman of a Senate special committee on the bankruptcy. “It leaves the county with five cooks in the kitchen,” he said in reference to the five-member Board of Supervisors. “And it will make for the production of a rather strange broth.”

Even some of Popejoy’s detractors said he may have been treated unfairly by the supervisors.

“I think he’s getting a raw deal,” said Bill Mello, a leader of the anti-tax Committees of Correspondence, who frequently fought with Popejoy over the top executive’s unsuccessful effort to use the sales tax increase to bail the county out of bankruptcy.

Some critics, however, said it was Popejoy’s insistence on the tax--known as Measure R--that really was the force behind his departure. When voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure last month, they sent a message that Popejoy should step aside, some said.

“I think this is for the best,” said Carole Walters, president of the Orange Taxpayers Assn., another group that vigorously opposed the tax. “He didn’t communicate well with the board. He looked down on the people.”

Buck Johns, a prominent county developer, agreed.

“When voters rejected [the tax], slammed the door on that, I think he had to go. I think this will help the county get back on the right track,” Johns said.

County supervisors, meanwhile, seemed taken aback by Popejoy’s move.

“I’m surprised. I did not have any indication that this was going to happen,” Board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez said.

Popejoy dismissed any suggestions that he was leaving because of the tax issue.

He said he regretted leaving the county before his nine-month contract expired, but said he was left no choice when the supervisors last week began trying to resume micro-managing county operations as well as the recovery effort.

“It wasn’t what I wanted,” said Popejoy. But, he said, “I have a right to spend my time the way I want to.”

County supervisors, who have complained bitterly that Popejoy made too many crucial decisions on the county’s recovery efforts without their input, met in closed session last week to rein in his authority and make him more accountable to the board.

The move was interpreted as a slap in the face to Popejoy, who had pushed the board members into adopting drastic cuts he wanted in the county’s budget, maneuvered them into putting the controversial tax hike on the ballot despite their near-unanimous opposition, and challenged them publicly when he felt they were playing politics at the county’s expense.

When Popejoy was hired, the supervisors converted their previous county administrative officer to a chief executive officer to give him broader authority to run county operations.

Popejoy’s willingness to use the new powers, however, created friction between him and his bosses.

The result was a dysfunctional county government.

“This would make a pretty good plot for a Woody Allen movie,” quipped a frustrated Popejoy as he called lawmakers in Sacramento to tell them of his decision. “I’d like to leave as nicely as possible, but I can’t be a fraud either.”

Chief among the board’s complaints were perceptions that supervisors were often the last to know what Popejoy was doing.

One of the most glaring examples came when Popejoy secretly went to New York to meet with Merrill Lynch executives about the county’s $2-billion suit against the Wall Street giant. Some of the supervisors complained that they didn’t learn of the trip before the news media did.

Supervisors also hit the roof when Popejoy publicly called for making the positions of board members part-time jobs, and urged that power be centralized and given to a strong-willed CEO--not unlike himself.

But his attacks were also personal.

Shortly after taking the job, Popejoy blasted Supervisor Jim Silva for displaying a lack of leadership by refusing to cut his own office budget at the same time he was calling for cuts countywide. Most recently, he butted heads with Supervisor Roger R. Stanton, when he asked the Orange County Grand Jury to investigate and remove Stanton for alleged misconduct in office.

Silva called for an emergency meeting today to discuss Popejoy’s successor.

Stanton declined to comment.