Veteran Administrator Tops List for L.A. County Job

David Janssen, the leading candidate to become the chief administrative officer of the Los Angeles County government, has seen government from both sides: the academic theory and the bare-knuckle reality.

He holds a doctorate in political science from UC Davis and got his first governmental management job in the sometimes chaotic administration of former Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr.

Janssen, 51, reportedly wowed a selection committee during his job interview, and sources said he is the favorite among four finalists announced Tuesday. The interview was vintage Janssen: smooth but not glib, confident without being overbearing, fact-filled without being didactic, earnest without being winsome, sources said.

If he gets the top job, it won’t be the first time he has talked his way to a post loaded with responsibility and fraught with problems.

He was a lowly analyst with the state Department of Finance, fresh from graduate school and the disappointing realization that the teaching market for new PhDs had collapsed, when he caught the eye of the demanding Rose Elizabeth Bird in 1975.

Bird, who was then director of the Agriculture and Services Agency, selected Janssen to head the Department of General Services and oversee its 4,000 employees and $300-million budget. The department has the daunting task of keeping state buildings and equipment in good shape while dodging the shoals of political egos, and Janssen was said to have performed superbly.

When incoming Gov. George Deukmejian launched a purge of high-level Brown appointees, Janssen landed a job in the chief administrative office in the San Diego County government in 1983. In 1992, he was promoted to the office’s top job.

As chief administrative officer, Janssen got high marks for his intellect, his penchant for hard work and his ability to anticipate changes in the funding level and mandates of county government. Under Janssen, San Diego County government downsized without the trauma seen in other jurisdictions.

“He kept San Diego County afloat during possibly its worst financial crisis years since 1850,” said Bob Lerner, retired public affairs officer for the county.

“He’s one of the finest things that ever happened to San Diego County,” said former Supervisor George Bailey. “He was very direct, he never hid information from the board and he was as honest as they come.”

“He has a tremendous capacity for understanding your problem, which is important,” said Undersheriff Jack Drown. “You may not always like the answer he gives you, but you will know he has listened to you and understood your concerns.”

In recent years the political makeup of the Board of Supervisors shifted and the last of the five supervisors who had hired Janssen left. The current board, made up of five Republicans, has taken a more conservative tilt, with supervisors demanding a streamlining of government and the ouster of some department heads.

Janssen was not comfortable with this approach, and his working relationship with the board, while remaining cordial, deteriorated. Janssen left the $135,000-a-year job this spring, amid compliments from supervisors about his professionalism and talents.

Since leaving, Janssen has worked as a consultant for the Price Family Foundation, a philanthropic foundation started by Price Club innovator Sol Price. In San Diego, few are surprised that Janssen is at the top of the list for the Los Angeles job.

“They’ll be very lucky if they can get him,” said former Planning Commissioner Al Ziegaus.

The other finalists are Robert Booker, San Diego County’s chief financial officer, James M. Bourey, a former top county administrator in Minnesota, and Hector Rivera, the top administrator in the North Carolina county that includes Greensboro.