3rd District Supervisor Candidates

Eight candidates are competing in the nonpartisan race for the seat being vacated by interim Supervisor Don Saltarelli. If none wins an outright majority March 26, a runoff will be held in November between the top two finishers. Here is a look at the candidates and their views on the issues:

The Issues

Measure T: The County Charter.

Measure U: Would increase Board of Supervisors to nine members.

Measure S: Would repeal plans for a commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Privatization: Privatizing public safety services.

Bankruptcy: Is county going in right direction on the bankruptcy?

The Candidates

MICKEY CONROY

Age: 68

Occupation: Assemblyman from Orange since 1991

Government/Elected Positions: Retired Marine Corps major

Fund-raising: $71,978 including loans of $3,400

Family: Married, two children, three grandchildren

Politics: Republican

Education: Attended University of Virginia, University of Maryland and University of Eastern Carolina

ON THE ISSUES

Measure T: Opposes “T doesn’t go far enough. It has status quo protection for unelected civil servants, it weakens the supervisors, fails to limit the spending and taxing powers of the county, proposes weak term limits and too modest privatization and weak control of public employee pay. What really blows me away is [the charter’s] call for reapportionment that will reflect ethnic and racial diversity.”

Measure U: Opposes “We need an active and alert board that would not long endure bureaucratic cover-up.”

Measure S: Supports. “I wrote the ballot argument against Measure A.” Opposes moving Marines to Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego in part because there is no housing for them there. Believes the community around El Toro should determine the fate of the base. Measure A “was circumventing planning and I thought it was not the way to go. Planning by ballot box is not the answer.”

Privatization: “I would privatize certain aspects of those things but would do it in conjunction with law enforcement people to make sure I was not giving away police powers of state.” Believes privatizing food services at the jail would work, but service must remain under prison authority. Favors other areas for privatization but is concerned that for-profit firms might neglect the physical plant.

Bankruptcy: “I couldn’t agree more that they are going in the right direction. No one thought a year later we would be . . . declaring the bankruptcy was behind us.”

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WILLIAM A. DOUGHERTY

Age: 71

Occupation: Lawyer

Government/Elected Positions: Retired Marine Corps colonel; assistant U.S. attorney, 1955-59 and 1960; staff for U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1959; Orange County GOP Central Committee, 1972-78 and 1994

Fund-raising: None

Family: Married, three grown children

Politics: Republican

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College; law degree from Cornell University Law School

ON THE ISSUES

Measures T: Favors adoption of a charter. “We need a strong executive to run the county. Bill Popejoy was doing a hell of a job and they fired him because he was showing them how dumb they were. The only one worth her salt is Marian Bergeson. The others, except for Bill Steiner, are weak, weak people.”

Measures U: Opposes.

Measure S: Strongly opposes Measure S. Sees a commercial airport as an employment and economic bonanza. “The airport is a treasure and it is just sitting there. LAX will be saturated in less than five years and we are on the Pacific Rim. Thirty percent of everything made in Orange County is shipped out by air.” Believes noise wouldn’t be a problem because there is an existing buffer zone, and planes are becoming quieter.

Privatization: “There is nothing wrong with privatizing the jail; that would cut down pensions and retirement.” Opposes a private fire department but doesn’t oppose privatization in general.

Bankruptcy: “The leadership of Orange County stinks; with good leaders we wouldn’t be in bankruptcy. There is no reason for us to be in bankruptcy. We are not insolvent.” Criticizes payouts to Salomon Brothers and legal team representing county. Calls paying legal fees of Supervisors Roger R. Stanton and William G. Steiner, who face civil charges of willful misconduct, “obscene.”

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CHARLES W. “PETE” MADDOX

Age: 47

Occupation: Owns computer systems company

Government/Elected Positions: Trustee, Rancho Santiago Community College district since 1990; board president 1993-95; board member, Orange County Community Development Council; several boards of charitable agencies

Fund-raising: $6,724, including $1,800 personal loan

Family: Married, three children

Politics: Republican

Education: Associate of arts degree from Rancho Santiago Community College

ON THE ISSUES

Measures T: Opposes a charter. “It is ill-conceived and poorly timed. We need to first define what it is our government is going to do and what service it is going to provide before we restructure. I am opposed to back-room deals and think this was a back-room deal. What bothers me most is the board would not let it stand against any competing proposals.”

Measures U: Opposes. “The real issue is: Are the supervisors honest and ethical. We could have 109 dishonest people asleep at the wheel and we are still going over the cliff.”

Measure S: Yes. “I want to see us build an international business and education center there rather than an airport.” The problem with John Wayne Airport is overuse by private aircraft. If they could be moved elsewhere, the county could “open that airport up a bit more. The El Toro airport is to help a few wealthy developers become wealthier at the expense of the residents.”

Privatization: “I am not one who wants to go ask a for-profit business to put a fire out at my house. It might not be cost-effective for them.” Not in favor of privatizing jail, but would like to see a “drug court” and other less expensive alternatives such as rehabilitation programs that “will take nonviolent drug offenders out of our jails so we can put predators in there.”

Bankruptcy: No. “I don’t believe in solutions such as importing trash. It destroys our land. We should be out there advocating for our county and making this a better place to live, not a cheaper place to run a government.” Believes current solution is “being driven from the back room. People with more influence have more input and it can’t work properly that way.”

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RON MIDDLEBROOK

Age: 31

Occupation: Clerk, county law library

Government/Elected Positions: None

Fund-raising: Will not accept more than $1,000 in total contributions

Family: Married, four children

Politics: Republican

Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science from Cal State Fullerton; attended law school for a year

ON THE ISSUES

Measures T: Opposes this charter “because I don’t like the part that would require redistricting to take into account ethnicity and race.” Favors progressively lowering salaries of elected officials during second term to “give them an incentive to get out.” Measures U: Opposes as too unwieldy.

Measure S: Supports S: “I don’t see why the county has to operate an airport. I would sell the land to a private investor and let the marketplace determine what happens.” Believes an airport would hurt property values in its vicinity. “Some see it as gold mine, but it would be a gold mine no matter what we do with it.”

Privatization: Would consider privatizing all services. “Whatever is cheapest and works the best, we should do.”

Bankruptcy “It is a complex issue and I think they are probably going the right way. I hope that afterward they would look at cutting taxes. I don’t think the county should have an investment pool. That money should be returned to the taxpayers.”

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TODD SPITZER

Age: 35

Occupation: Deputy district attorney and reserve police officer

Government/Elected Positions: Trustee of the Brea-Olinda Unified School District since 1992, current vice president

Fund-raising: $67,112, including $60,000 personal loan

Family: Single

Politics: Republican

Education: Bachelor’s degree from UCLA, master’s in public policy from UC Berkeley, law degree from Hastings College of Law

ON THE ISSUES

Measures T: Opposed. “I am a supporter of local control and controlling our own destiny. However, this particular charter does not protect the taxpayers.

Measures U: “I am absolutely against expanding the Board of Supervisors. In fact, part of my platform is to make the board a part-time position eventually.”

Measure S: Yes. “I am not against an airport, but I am not happy with the way the airport study was done. The citizens need to be heard. We need to get more input on it. It appears the supervisors decided they were going to put in a commercial airport and built the studies around their decision.”

Privatization: “We should privatize every aspect of county government that is possible. However, as a prosecutor who has prosecuted private security guards for bad shooting decisions, we must be very wary how we approach privatizing law enforcement and other public safety services.”

Bankruptcy: Advocates vigorous prosecution and no plea bargains for those responsible for the bankruptcy. For civil suits, “we must make every reasonable effort to recoup the county’s losses from all those responsible for it.”

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BRUCE WHITAKER

Age: 40

Occupation: Self-employed management and financial consultant

Government/Elected Positions: Served on several bankruptcy-related boards: Management Audit Oversight Committee; County Salary and Benefit Survey Review Committee; and Environmental Management Agency Steering Committee on Privatization

Fund-raising: $7,500, including $1,200 personal loan

Family: Married

Politics: Republican

Education: Course work at UCLA, Wharton School of Business, Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Fullerton

ON THE ISSUES

Measure T: Opposes Measure T. Co-author of the opposition ballot argument. “It goes in the wrong direction. The people’s influence on the process is through elected representatives. We need more representative government, not less.”

Measure U: Could support Measure U, but it would be moot if T is defeated. Thinks some current supervisors “are out of touch.”

Measure S: “I am right now leaning yes on S.” The mandate for an airport needs reassessment because it was “pushed through too fast.” Voted for Measure A because of fundamental efficiency in reusing it as an airport, but to have “it locked in stone is something I am uncomfortable with. . . . I would almost rather leave the property intact until the market determines what to do with it.”

Privatization: Strongly favors jail privatization but is less of an advocate for police and fire privatization. “In public safety, this is an emotional and trickier issue and [I] would proceed more slowly there” than for other services. “Everyone wins when competition is introduced into any system.”

Bankruptcy: No. Opposes mortgaging county property “to delay the day of reckoning.” In addition, “they are retroactively approving pay increases and other bonuses, they are rehiring the laid-off people. . . . The highly paid consultants are really running the county.”

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HELEN WILSON

Age: 45

Occupation: Homemaker and businesswoman

Government/Elected Positions: Five-year member of Lake Forest City Council; twice mayor, currently mayor pro tem; board member of Orange County Fire Authority and Transportation Corridor Agencies; served on County Vector Control Board

Fund-raising: $50,572, including $35,000 personal loan

Family: Married, two children

Politics: Republican

Education: Graduate of Long Beach Police Reserve Academy; attended Saddleback College before transferring this year to Chapman University

ON THE ISSUES

Measures T: Supports T because “it will produce change.” Believes it best to elect policymakers and appoint administrative officers. “We will be able to change this charter with further initiatives,” but without privatization will be stymied.

Measures U: Opposes because “it adds more government.” Envisions a county with cities “taking on more of the load.”

Measure S: “Yes, mainly because I am not happy with the present planning for the commercial airport, which is biased. I think the cities of Lake Forest and Irvine should be involved in more than an advisory capacity, because those communities have the most at stake.”

Privatization: “I don’t want to privatize for the sake of saving money if the result is we jeopardize the safety of employees or the quality of services.” Would consider privatizing jails but not police. Wants to ensure that in cutting costs “we can’t just eliminate benefits for people and make it impossible for them to live in the community they serve.”

Bankruptcy: Criticizes landfill sale and says “the county cannot solve the bankruptcy by meeting the cities’ and special districts’ claims for 100% on the dollar. They should take the loss, they knew it was risky.” Favors settling Merrill Lynch lawsuit, which “will not happen as long as [county bankruptcy counsel] Bruce Bennett is there.”

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SUSAN WITHROW

Age: 41

Occupation: Homemaker and urban planner

Government/Elected Positions: Mission Viejo City Council member since 1990 and mayor in 1994; board member of Foothill Transportation Corridor Agency; board member of El Toro Reuse Planning Authority; Orange County League of California Cities representative to statewide Public Works Policy Committee; chairwoman of Orange County League of California Cities Super Committee on Restructuring County Government; six years working in urban planning for several cities

Fund-raising: $18,816

Family: Married, two children

Politics: Republican

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University, master’s in public administration from Cal State Long Beach, teaching credential from UC Irvine

ON THE ISSUES

Measures T: Supports, saying it is imperfect reform that will allow county to go through restructuring and privatizing needed to downsize and improve government. “The No.1 issue is not the bankruptcy, but the opportunity we have now for restructuring. I guarantee that if Measure T isn’t passed, you are not going to see another charter initiative come up.”

Measures U: Opposes: Would favor this type of change once county government is dramatically downsized. “I think down the road it makes sense to expand the board and make it part time with reduced salary if we had a strong CEO; that would make it similar to most city governments.”

Measure S: Yes. “Measure A was an ill-conceived measure and a setback in the planning process. S will ensure all county residents a fair planning process is pursued.” Critical of current studies, which “are woefully lacking in alternative uses” for the land and contain no letters of interest from any carrier. “I suspect the airlines are not interested in another regional airport but want an international airport.”

Privatization: Favors privatizing in many areas but is “not nearly as willing to privatize the public safety programs. I am not saying I wouldn’t do it, but it is a different trade-off. With jails and police, we need to ensure those employees have a future, a vested interest in doing their jobs well and to excel.”

Bankruptcy: “I think we have made some real good progress in bringing resolution to that crisis and in pretty record time. The issue today is restructuring, downsizing government. My vision, by the turn of the century, is a totally different county government structure with county government reduced and cities prevalent.”

Note: All fund-raising totals as of Feb. 10

Sources: Individual candidates, campaign reports; Researched by PETER M. WARREN / Los Angeles Times