Citizens Still Must Keep Their Eyes on Government : Charter’s failure wasn’t a vote for the status quo

The voters’ decision not to change Orange County’s form of government should not be read as satisfaction with the status quo. The county’s bankruptcy is too fresh in everyone’s memory for that, and some of the issues like term limits are still bubbling.

The proposition on the March ballot to change the county from one known as general law to one governed by a charter was defeated soundly. But there may be other attempts to institute a charter in the future. After all, it took several attempts to pass a sales tax increase for transportation in the county a few years ago.

Converting to charter government would have been a small improvement, but an improvement, nonetheless. Although 45 of the state’s 58 counties are governed by general law, which is set down by Sacramento and implemented locally, many larger counties, including San Diego and Los Angeles, are governed by charters. The charters are individually crafted laws applicable to the counties where they are written.

Regardless of form, the best government is the one operated by the best people. If a collection of bureaucrats more interested in watching the clock than serving the populace is in charge, things will go badly. Orange County generally has fared better than that, with able civil servants in almost all departments, at almost every level, at least until the December 1994 bankruptcy.

It was that catastrophic event, triggered by the huge loss in the county’s investment fund, that spurred the Board of Supervisors to establish a Charter Commission. The commission, with more than 30 members, deserves credit for its hard work and months of meetings. Composed of elected officials, business people and residents galvanized to take an interest in government after the bankruptcy, the commission took pains to open its meetings to all who wanted to attend.

Most on the commission, including dissidents, were civic-minded residents who are valuable to the community. Everyone will benefit if they remain interested and active in monitoring government operations and suggesting improvements. All governments need to be watched; putting their factions under bright lights serves the common interest.

Last week, Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier proposed a sweeping restructuring of local government that met with some favorable early review by supervisors and merits further development and discussion. Some of the good ideas include better regional planning, contracting out more government functions and halting duplication of services. In the meantime, it was disquieting to hear complaints that Mittermeier had tried to put a lid on release of information generally to the public. As the county moves from bankruptcy into the future, more information is needed, not less.

Mittermeier is a veteran county employee who succeeded businessman William Popejoy as CEO several months ago. Popejoy was an independent soul unafraid to deliver bad news to supervisors and to speak his mind in public. The county benefited from his openness.

Despite loud proclamations from the supervisors that there would be a nationwide replacement search, it extended only from Santa Ana to John Wayne Airport, where Mittermeier was in charge. This was so despite the existence of city managers and county executives across the country who likely would have been interested in Orange County government’s top appointed job and the chance to participate in bankruptcy recovery. If the best candidate is to be found locally, fine, but the county really needs to make better efforts in the future to broaden its talent pool in filling key positions.

Fortunately, Orange County residents still are sufficiently energized by the bankruptcy to keep an eye on county government and guard against another fiscal disaster. Continued vigilance is always needed, especially as the county continues to get itself back on track.