Allen Adviser Says Speaker Opposes a Forced Solution : Recovery: Assembly leader wants recovery deal ‘from bottom up.’ O.C. lawmakers working on ‘top down’ plan.

Assembly Speaker Doris Allen would prefer that Sacramento refrain from forcing its own recovery solutions on Orange County, her chief adviser on bankruptcy told the county’s legislative delegation Thursday.

Dana Reed, an Orange County attorney who is advising Allen (R-Cypress) on the bankruptcy, said she is reluctant to “force” a solution on the county before the Legislature adjourns for the year in mid-September.

“The Speaker wants the solution to come from the bottom up, not from the top down,” Reed said. “If it comes from the top down, it is Sacramento imposing its will on the people of Orange County. That is not the preferable way to solve this matter.”

If the county, city officials and Sacramento lawmakers can’t get together on a solution by the close of session, Reed said, he doesn’t see anything happening until next year.

Reed’s views drew protest from several lawmakers from the Orange County legislative delegation, who have been crafting their own plan in hopes of a resolution soon. Lawmakers are eager to put the matter to rest for fear that Wall Street lenders will begin to act more punitively toward other municipalities in the state.

“I don’t think the people of Orange County want to just stand back and wait another year to get this resolved,” said Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Orange). “No more delays. There’s already been too many.”

In addition, the growing tug-of-war between Allen and her GOP colleagues in the county delegation is colored by the looming recall battle against her, which is being pushed most forcefully by Orange County Republican lawmakers. Allen has been at odds with most of her GOP peers since she was elevated last month to the speakership on a party line vote of Assembly Democrats and her own.

“It seems like the would-be Speaker wants to fiddle while Orange County burns,” said Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange), one of the architects of the delegation’s plan. “The Legislature must take action with or without Doris Allen.”

Lewis questioned whether Allen could gain enough support for her hands-off stand from legislators on either side of the aisle, particularly Democrats from fiscally ailing Los Angeles County.

“The extent to which the Democrats want to back her regardless of how inept her ploy might be could cause concern,” he said. “But the Democrats have to be worried about the effect on California as a whole to have Orange County’s predicament unresolved. Also, if the Democrats won’t help us solve Orange County’s dilemma, will the Republicans help them solve L.A. County?”

*

Other lawmakers also questioned whether Allen is trying to derail the delegation’s plan to help the Orange County Transportation Authority, which would lose big if transportation funds are diverted to bankruptcy recovery. Reed is a former board director with OCTA, and Allen met on Monday with agency representatives to discuss the bankruptcy.

Reed, meanwhile, insisted that Allen is “not at all being contrarian” to the delegation’s plan, which hinges mostly on a shift of existing transportation sales tax money to bankruptcy recovery.

But he said that the looming close of session should not cause the Legislature to rush to a solution, especially since Orange County has rolled over the bulk of its bond debt until next June. Reed noted, in particular, that the county, the cities and special districts are far apart on any agreement.

“If there’s some way to reach a consensus by Sept. 15, that’s fantastic, and Doris Allen would certainly help support that,” he said. “But right now the various parties in this are not singing out of the same hymn book.”