O.C. Survey Reveals the Pain of the ‘90s : Leaders Must Act to Counter Shrinking Confidence

The 1990s have been a bruising time for Orange County, from recession at the beginning of the decade to the bankruptcy that was declared a year ago and continues today. Small wonder residents feel buffeted.

The changes over the years can be measured by the results of the Orange County annual survey, a measurement of the county’s economic, political and social condition as seen through residents’ eyes.

Mark Baldassare and Cheryl Katz of UC Irvine have conducted the survey for 14 years. It offers a valuable snapshot of any one point in time, and a good gauge to measure distances traveled, forward or back.

This year’s findings, released last week, show how much the bankruptcy has affected the county. For the first decade of the survey, traffic was the main concern of county residents. In 1992 the economy was the main concern, no surprise given the highlighting of that issue during that year’s presidential election campaign. The next two years, crime most concerned residents. This year, understandably, it was the financial crisis.

Part of the fallout from the bankruptcy has been a woeful deterioration in residents’ confidence in local government. A decade ago, more than half the respondents to the poll said they believed local government was effective. This year, the percentage dropped to 41%. More than two-thirds of those questioned said they wanted cities to have more power, a blow to county officials.

Those responses show the enormous job the Board of Supervisors has in store in attempting to persuade residents that they are listening, responding and leading.

There is a recovery plan in place, though a shaky one. Three of the five supervisors have come on board since the bankruptcy; the other two have said they will not run for reelection. That should clear the decks for a new start at governing the county, but the suspicion of residents who saw the supervisors preside over the bankruptcy will not be dispelled easily.

The survey results also set the stage for a discussion of whether to change the form of county government from general law status to one ruled by a charter. Respondents supported a part-time Board of Supervisors, a strong county chief executive officer and increased privatization of county services, all of which could be part of a charter form of government.

Leadership is needed in ethnic communities too. Despite great demographic changes in Orange County in the last two decades, there has been nearly no shift in local politics. One reason is that a shockingly high number of Asian adults, 47%, and Hispanic adults, 50%, said they have never voted.

Those numbers mean that people are not voting on issues that affect them, from their representatives in Congress and on the City Council to Prop. 187, last year’s statewide ballot measure cutting off many benefits to illegal immigrants. Democracy rests on an informed electorate; it does no one any good to have large numbers of members of any group stay home from the polls.

There is much work to do, as is evident in the survey finding that only 12% say the current quality of life is very good, while 32% say things are going badly. One piece of good news was a decline in the number of those who expect Orange County to become a worse place. That backhanded compliment offers something for businesses and political leaders to build on. Much will depend on how the bankruptcy recovery is handled from here out, and how the economy fares, and on the resolve of Orange County citizens to build positively for the future.