A Symbol of Hope Calls It Quits : Popejoy’s departure should bring no cheers, even among O.C. supervisors

While there have been many working in recent months to put bankrupt Orange County back on track, perhaps none symbolized the hope of recovery for a watching nation better than Chief Executive Officer William J. Popejoy. His announcement this week that he was quitting after his frustrating dealings with the Board of Supervisors signaled a real loss and indicated that an intransigent county was making recovery even harder than necessary.

The supervisors resemble major league baseball’s club owners--who now have no commissioner--in their inability to submit to the discipline of executive leadership. They have things their way, but the bankruptcy recovery is a game stalled months into the season.

After first wanting a strong executive and then not wanting one, the supervisors are attempting to fill the office again. Certainly decisiveness in that position is what they need and should seek out. But it is clear, and somewhat depressing to recognize, that Popejoy was speaking truth when he said the supervisors just want business as usual. His departure is a hollow victory for officials who recently trimmed his sails while they were dodging tough choices on generating new revenue.

It is folly for the supervisors to think that the voters’ rejection last month of a half-cent sales tax for bankruptcy recovery represented any kind of endorsement of their stewardship, or a rejection of Popejoy. Before Popejoy, there was chaos. Without him, the county well might not have had its budget in shape this year, or a rollover plan for its creditors, or a plan to pay off cities and schools. The supervisors still lack the essential piece of recovery that has been needed since last December--a revenue stream. This is what they must achieve, weak executive or strong.

Popejoy’s announcement also elicited a new round of suggestions that the state might take over Orange County’s finances. State trusteeship would not be the best option, but time is running out for a board that through weak leadership has invited close scrutiny.