Officials Are Quizzed on Measure T Positions

Opponents of Measure T have sent questionnaires to all city council members in Orange County seeking their views on the proposed county charter, which goes before voters in March.

Patrick Quaney, a leader of the Concerned Citizens Charter Committee, said surveys were also sent to about 90 state and local candidates who are on the March 26 ballot. “We feel this is the kind of issue that people should take a stand on,” he said. “We want to see where the politicians come down on this.”

About 25% of the questionnaires have been returned so far, Quaney said. The anti-charter group plans to release a list of supporters and opponents of Measure T within the next few weeks.

The charter is designed to restructure county government in the wake of the bankruptcy, which followed a $1.6-billion loss in a county’s investment pool.

The charter would establish a strong chief executive officer to run day-to-day county affairs and limit the Board of Supervisors to policymaking duties. It would also convert several elected posts, such as treasurer and auditor-controller, into appointed ones and limit supervisors to two consecutive terms.

But Quaney and other critics fault the proposal for giving too much power to officials who are not elected. They also say the charter might leave the county unprotected by the terms of Proposition 13 and other tax laws.

Measure T opponents have recently raised concerns about the legal analysis of the charter written by the county counsel’s office, which they said is biased in favor of the proposal.