O.C. SUPERVISOR VASQUEZ STEPS DOWN : Vasquez Decision Sparks Flurry of Speculation About Successor : Appointment: Some of those mentioned are surprised, flattered. Others are already campaigning.

Gaddi H. Vasquez’s announcement Monday that he will resign from the Orange County Board of Supervisors triggered a flurry of speculation about who will replace him.

The possible candidates getting the most attention were Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange), who already announced plans to seek Vasquez’s seat next year, and Orange County Republican Party Chairman Tom Fuentes.

Conroy wasn’t wasting any time Monday seeking the nod from Gov. Pete Wilson.

“I will write [Wilson] a letter and ask him to be appointed,” Conroy said. “I don’t know who’s on his list, but I’d like it very much if I could be the appointee.”

Other candidates whose names were bandied about ranged from the unlikely--citizen activist Bruce Whitaker--to the uninterested--Irvine Co. Executive Vice President Gary Hunt, who has made it clear he doesn’t want the job. Even William J. Popejoy, the former county chief executive officer who recently quit in frustration, was suggested by a few county observers.

The frenzied speculation caught some potential candidates by surprise. Others were flattered.

“There’s rumors about all sorts of things. The only rumor I can confirm is that I’m washing my [son’s] car this morning,” Popejoy remarked.

When told that his name was being mentioned, Orange County Business Council President Wayne Wedin said: “That’s wild.”

“I’m not a candidate,” said Wedin, a former Brea mayor, who spent much of Monday at the Hyatt Regency Irvine helping broker negotiations between the county and local government agencies that lost millions in the county-run investment pool last year.

Supervisor Marian Bergeson said Wilson must choose between two types of candidates. One would be a “caretaker,” who will help lead the county out of bankruptcy and is not necessarily looking to serve beyond Vasquez’s term, which ends December, 1996. The other would be a career politician who wants to campaign for and keep the seat.

“I think what they’re going to weigh is how someone can go in and make a difference in the county,” said Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove). “The county is bankrupt, and they need someone who can provide leadership, particularly in the short run.”

Christine Diemer, executive director of the Orange County Building Industry Assn., said she met with Wilson when he was in Orange County last week. She said that she fits the two basic criteria for Vasquez’s replacement: a “loyal Pete Wilson supporter” who would fill the seat only until Vasquez’s term expires.

Diemer refused to comment directly about whether she would like the job or has been told she is being considered.

Vasquez’s replacement must be a registered voter in the 3rd Supervisorial District at the time of the swearing-in ceremony, meaning those who have never lived in the district could still be in the running.

Supervisor William G. Steiner called Wilson’s office to say both Conroy and former Tustin Mayor Donald Saltarelli would be excellent choices.

Saltarelli said he had yet to hear from Sacramento.

“I’m happy that I’m thought well enough of to have my name under consideration by some,” Saltarelli said, adding that he thinks he would fall into the “caretaker” category but would have reservations about being seen as a “lame duck.”

“I have no inclination toward raising money and doing the other things necessary to campaign and win,” he said.

Other names mentioned include: Lake Forest Mayor Richard T. Dixon, Lake Forest Councilwoman Helen Wilson, Mission Viejo Councilwoman Susan Withrow, and former La Habra Mayor Bill Mahony.

Rancho Santiago College President Charles W. (Pete) Maddox is also actively campaigning for Vasquez’ seat.

The prospect of a Wilson appointment left some wondering how it will affect their election hopes.

“If the governor has a short list, it’s going to have to be a very, very, very long list before it gets to me,” joked Emmy Day, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Authority, who said she wants to serve just long enough to restructure government, turn supervisors into part-timers and then return to her family.

“Getting an appointment would help me do that,” Day said. “But I guess that’s about the same as me winning the lottery.”