It’s Official: Vasquez Resigns, Citing ‘Difficult’ Past Months : Politics: Supervisor defends O.C. board’s actions since bankruptcy. Attention now turns to the naming of a successor.

Saying that “the past months have been the most difficult of my professional life,” Gaddi H. Vasquez will step down as chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 22, some 15 months before his current term is set to expire.

In a three-page statement issued Monday, Vasquez recounted the steps that have been taken to help the county out of its unprecedented bankruptcy--from massive cuts in the county’s budget to a refinancing of the county’s short-term debt--but noted that “every step in the recovery effort has been challenging and, in many cases, painful.”

Vasquez informed Gov. Pete Wilson’s office more than three weeks ago of his plans to resign, and said he would stay on for seven more weeks to help select a permanent chief executive officer and to approve the 1995-96 county budget.

The announcement now turns the spotlight on Sacramento, where Wilson will appoint someone to serve out the remainder of Vasquez’s term and help guide the county through the greatest crisis in its history. Vasquez said Monday he had provided Wilson with his own list of candidates to succeed him, none of whom he would identify.

The governor’s choice could be influenced by a variety of factors, including Wilson’s ongoing campaign for the presidency, the governor’s close relationship with Irvine Co. Chairman Donald Bren, and the political implications of the selection on the continuing battle over the Assembly speakership.

Insiders in the Capitol, including several with close ties to the governor’s office, said it’s highly unlikely Wilson would appoint Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange), who plans to run for the job next year and has put on a full-court press to get the appointment. The sources said that Wilson probably would prefer that Conroy remain in Sacramento in the likely event that the Republicans force another vote on the speakership in the narrowly divided Assembly.

Besides Conroy, those actively interested in the appointment are Rancho Santiago College President Charles W. (Pete) Maddox and Christine Diemer, executive director of the Orange County Building Industry Assn.

Others frequently mentioned as possible candidates include Wayne Wedin, chairman of the board of the Orange County Business Council; Tom Fuentes, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party; former Orange County Chief Executive Officer William J. Popejoy; Irvine Co. Executive Vice President Gary Hunt; former Tustin Mayor Donald Saltarelli, and Ravi Mehta, a onetime Vasquez aide who is now the head of the state Fair Political Practices Commission and a fervent Wilson supporter.

Other local officials being named as potential replacements include Lake Forest Mayor Richard T. Dixon, Lake Forest Councilwoman Helen Wilson and Mission Viejo Councilwoman Susan Withrow.

Wilson’s appointments staff, working with Chief of Staff Bob White, are expected to compile a short list of contenders for submission to the governor in coming days. Even so, Wilson might turn to outsiders such as Bren for advice on the pick, insiders said.

Wilson’s spokesman, however, declined to say who the governor is eyeing or when a decision would be made.

“We’re in the process of conducting a search to determine the most qualified person for a situation that is very serious,” said Paul Kranhold, Wilson’s spokesman. “We have some names that people have recommended. But we’re not going to get into public speculation as to who that person will be.”

Kranhold said that Wilson “obviously wants to appoint someone who has a good knowledge of local government issues and a sound financial background. And somebody who has demonstrated some leadership skills.”

While many were salivating over his job Monday, Vasquez spoke emotionally of what led him to resign from office early.

Most of the short-term goals he set after the bankruptcy--from achieving a settlement with the public agencies that had billions in the county’s ill-fated investment pool, to getting a one-year extension for repayment of some of the county’s debt--had been accomplished, and Vasquez said he felt it was time to move on.

“Come the end of September, I will have essentially completed the major tasks that one would engage in as chairman of the board--in addition to all of the other things that I’ve had to do for the past eight months, which is live, talk and breathe this recovery since it started, virtually seven days a week,” Vasquez said.

But one of the key factors in deciding to leave next month had to do with missing much of his 16-year-old son Jason’s childhood and adolescence, while Vasquez toiled in public service--8 1/2 years as a county supervisor and two years before that as an appointments secretary for then-Gov. George Deukmejian.

“On a very personal side, in recent days and weeks, it has become for the first time very apparent that this entire episode--the time and time away from him--has had an impact on my son,” he said. “He’s 16 now. He needs his dad. And in recent weeks, some of his commentary and observations clearly point to a need for me to focus on his priorities and the needs he has in his life.”

But Vasquez also acknowledged that the barrage of criticism leveled against him during his time in office--particularly harsh after the county become the largest municipality in the United States to declare bankruptcy--has taken its toll. The county-run investment fund lost $1.7 billion under the stewardship of former Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron, who has since pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to his handling of the portfolio.

“Probably if there is one criticism that has been cruel, unjust, unfair and hideous is this perception that somehow this job is regal and is showered with perks. They’re wrong,” he said. “I’m not a guy who spends eight hours here. I’m not a guy who spends six hours here. I wasn’t raised that way.”

In Monday’s interview, Vasquez portrayed himself as someone who had to work for everything he achieved and nothing came easily.

“Every step I’ve ever taken in my life--having been raised in a migrant farm-working family--has been difficult, has been painful, has been challenging. Nothing has come easy,” he said. “And so while this has been challenging and it has been difficult, I have recognized and come to the conclusion that at this particular point in time in my life, it is in my best interest for me to step aside.”

He overcame long odds even before he was born.

“My mother reminded me just a few weeks ago that when she was going to have me she was in labor for 52 hours and the doctors predicted that I probably would not survive. But I did. I was born,” he said. “My father named me Gaddi, which, translated, means ‘fortunate.’ And I’ve never stopped being fortunate in many, many ways.”

With a splashy political career that showed boundless potential, Vasquez became California’s highest elected Latino official in the Republican Party when he won his first full term of office in 1988. Deukmejian had appointed him to complete an unexpired term the year before, when Vasquez was only 33.

Mentioned as gubernatorial or even presidential material, Vasquez gave a rousing speech at the 1988 Republican National Convention. His speech at the 1992 convention earned him praise from former President Richard Nixon, one of Vasquez’s idols.

But with Monday’s announcement, Vasquez’s once-promising career has come to an abrupt end, at least temporarily, tainted by the county’s financial disaster in which he was criticized for not having done more to prevent the crisis. Even though Vasquez had announced in June that he would not be seeking another term, the county supervisor was served with recall papers only three weeks ago.

Vasquez, however, called the resignation a “hiatus” from public service, hinting that he he might pop up in another political job someday. Some have speculated that he will return to a career in law enforcement, perhaps with the Orange Police Department, where he worked from 1975 to 1979.

“He would be welcome back here,” said Capt. Gene Hernandez of the Orange Police Department, where Vasquez started as an officer and continues to work as a reserve officer. “He would start as an officer. His options are multitudinous, though, but he loved being a police officer. Whether he wants to that again would be for him to answer.”

However, few on Monday were willing to write Vasquez’s political obituary just yet.

“I think that Gaddi, when he was appointed, was seen as a rising star and up until the bankruptcy, people had high hopes for him,” said Mehta, who worked in the Wilson administration and is now Fair Political Practices Commission chairman.

“But even though there have been problems with the county, Gaddi’s a fighter and I wouldn’t write him off for other governmental positions, whether elected or appointed. Anyone who has been that committed to public service and devoted his life to it doesn’t get out of it that quickly.”

Others weren’t so sure.

“It’s a tragedy of extraordinary proportions that such a promising career has had this happen to it. It’s very sad,” said Ken Khachigian, a political consultant who met Vasquez more than a decade ago when both worked in the Deukmejian administration.

“I saw Gaddi as able to win statewide office, and to help the Republican Party bridge its way into an era when Hispanics were going to be gaining in population and influence. . . . For the very near future, at least, his career is over,” lamented Khachigian.

Vasquez has slightly more than $300,000 in political contributions remaining in his campaign accounts. According to state law, he can donate some or all of the money to a charity, use it to defray his political expenses or contribute it to another political party or cause--as long as he does not directly aid another candidate in a California election. He can give it to a candidate for any federal race or any state race outside of California, or to any initiative campaign. But he cannot simply spend the money on himself or his family.

Vasquez’s announcement was kept quiet apparently to help calm concerns about a county in chaos, especially since county leaders were grappling with the recent resignation of William J. Popejoy, who announced his departure one day before Vasquez told Wilson’s office he would be stepping down.

County Supervisor Marian Bergeson said she was concerned about the county appearing rudderless.

“It was very important to maintain a position of stability,” Bergeson said. “We need to minimize the effects of this. It’s important that we have certainty, continuity.”

To Supervisor William G. Steiner, it was a good time for Vasquez to consider his future.

“I think he’s going to catch his breath and take a break,” said Steiner. “I think he needs some time to re-evaluate. He’s always been on center stage most of his life and he’s always placed very high expectations on himself. I think that after a while, he will land something significant either in the public or private sector.”

Times staff writers Jodi Wilgoren and Peter M. Warren contributed to this report.

More Coverage

* GUESSING GAME: Vasquez’s announcement triggers a flurry of speculation about who will replace him. Some are campaigning. A17

* FAMILY TIES: The resignation was rooted in a desire to spend more time with his wife and 16-year-old son. A17

* PRIMER: How the selection of a replacement will work. A20

* KEY CAREER DATES: From 1972 Boy’s State Convention to Monday’s announcement. A20

* VASQUEZ STATEMENT: Full text of supervisor’s statement. A20

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Orange County’s Supervisors

Gaddi H. Vasquez’s resignation, effective about 15 months before the end of his term, leaves Gov. Pete Wilson the responsibility of appointing a successor to join 15-year veteran Roger R. Stanton and three recently elected colleagues. A supervisor profile:

Job description: Orange County’s five supervisors are directly elected to four-year terms from separate districts. They are responsible for overseeing a county government staff of about 15,000, managing a $3.8 billion annual budget and voting on a wide variety of matters ranging from land use to county contracts.

Roger R. Stanton

District 1

First elected: 1980

Term expires: November, 1996

Cities served: Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Westminster

Unincorporated areas served: Midway City

****

Jim Silva

District 2

Elected: 1994

Term expires: November, 1998

Cities served: Costa Mesa, Cypress, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Santa Ana, Seal Beach and Stanton

Unincorporated areas served: Anaheim islands, Rossmoor, Sunset Beach and Surfside

****

Gaddi H. Vasquez

District 3

First elected: 1988 (after appointment in 1987)

Resignation effective: Sept. 22, 1995

Cities served: Brea, Fullerton, La Habra, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin, Villa Park and Yorba Linda

Unincorporated areas served: Cowan Heights, Foothill Ranch, Lemon Heights, Orange Hills, Orange Park Acres, Portola Hills, Tustin foothills, Modjeska Canyon, Santiago Canyon, Silverado Canyon and Trabuco Canyon

****

William G. Steiner

District 4

First elected: 1994 (after appointment in 1993)

Term expires: November, 1998

Cities served: Anaheim, Buena Park, La Palma, Orange and Placentia

Unincorporated areas served: Cypress islands, El Modena, Olive and west Anaheim

****

Marian Bergeson

District 5

Elected: 1994

Term expires: November, 1998

Cities served: Dana Point, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Tustin

Unincorporated areas served: Aliso Viejo, Aliso-Lagunita, Arch Beach, Capistrano Beach, Coto de Caza, East Irvine, El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, Emerald Bay, Laguna Canyon, Leisure World, Rancho Santa Margarita, Santa Ana Heights, south Laguna Hills, Trabuco Highlands and Three Arch Bay

What It Pays

Here’s how supervisor pay in Orange County compares with other jobs around the county and state as well as that of other Southern California supervisors:

UCI chancellor: $179,000

OCTA executive director: $134,000

Governor of California: $120,000

Los Angeles County supervisor: $107,390

Municipal court judge: $95,214

Orange County supervisor: $82,056

San Diego County supervisor: $78,456

State legislator: $72,000

San Bernardino County supervisor: $68,491

Riverside County supervisor: $64,434

Sources: Individual counties, League of California Cities, California Political Almanac, Times reports

Researched by APRIL JACKSON and JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times