Bold Agenda Never Won Enough Support

Marian Bergeson’s departure from the Board of Supervisors leaves the county without its most persistent voice in favor of post-bankruptcy downsizing, greater public openness and other important reforms, activists and officials said Tuesday.

Taking office just a month after the county’s plunge into bankruptcy nearly two years ago, Bergeson quickly advocated “radical” government restructuring aimed at improving efficiency and providing greater oversight of county operations.

“It’s a tragic loss for the county,” said William Mitchell, an Irvine attorney who served on the county’s Government Practices Oversight Committee, created to make the county more efficient and accountable to the public.

“I didn’t always agree with her, but she brought a new vitality to government that served as a counterbalance to the old board and the old culture,” Mitchell added. “She brought a new perspective and understanding as well as a desire to tackle difficult issues.”

Bergeson stunned county officials Tuesday by announcing she will resign later this winter to join Gov. Pete Wilson’s cabinet as secretary of education and child development.

In her 22 months on the board, Bergeson pushed an ambitious list of initiatives including a county charter and a plan that would drastically reduce the duties of county government, create an elected “county mayor” and make the Board of Supervisors a part-time body.

None of those initiatives gained wide support, and Bergeson was sometimes criticized for being inflexible and unwilling to compromise with colleagues. At times, she found herself on the losing end of 4-1 votes.

But even her most persistent critics said Tuesday that they came to respect Bergeson’s independent streak.

“Marian will be missed because of those times when she spoke out and acted on principles,” said Bruce Whitaker, an anti-tax activist. “It’s not something we see a lot of in government.”

People close to Bergeson said she was becoming frustrated by the lack of action on even her simplest proposals, such as televising board meetings. She also clashed with colleagues over her concerns about paying the defense costs of officials--including two supervisors--accused of bankruptcy-related misdeeds.

Nonetheless, she scored some notable victories, including placement of a measure on the November ballot that would limit supervisors to two consecutive terms in office.

Bergeson focused heavily on environmental and land-use issues in the South County. She was involved in agreements with developers to preserve environmentally sensitive areas in the San Joaquin Hills and along the Newport Coast.

She also worked to secure funding for recreational areas, including Upper Newport Bay Regional Park, and helped develop a plan for a critically needed bay dredging.

“She always had a forward vision and has been a major supporter of parks, trails and open space in Orange County,” said Ilse Byrnes, president of the California Trials Foundation, praising Bergeson’s efforts last year to reopen Caspers Wilderness Park.

But other issues proved more difficult. Bergeson spent much of her term trying to find common ground between opponents and supporters of a commercial airport at the El Toro Marine base.

Despite months of meetings and public forums, compromise remained elusive, and Bergeson caught flak from both sides in the emotional debate, especially from some airport opponents who thought she should take a harder stand against the facility.

“She did a wonderful job of listening to people and representing a district with widely diverse views,” Supervisor Don Saltarelli said. “It was a very difficult task.”

The bankruptcy aftermath also brought challenges. A few months after taking office, Bergeson unveiled her ambitious Orange County 2000 report, which called for radical changes in the way local government operated and would have reduced the power and scope of county government.

Though County Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier incorporated some of Bergeson’s ideas in her government reorganization effort, other supervisors expressed little interest in the concept.

Bergeson “was the only [supervisor] really to advance a credible restructuring plan for the county,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t favor the plan, but the point is she wanted to bring new ideas to government.”

Bergeson also emerged as a strong supporter of open bidding for government contracts and pushed the county to consider new privatization efforts. She was an influential backer of a charter that would have established term limits for supervisors and made it easier for the county to contract out more services. But voters soundly rejected the charter in March.

Her effort to make county government more accessible to a skeptical public also produced mixed results. She and Saltarelli did push the county to hold public meetings in South County on the issues of El Toro and the proposed expansion of the James A. Musick Branch Jail in Irvine.

But she remained the only supervisor to support televising board meeting.

Even though Bergeson was not on the board when the county declared bankruptcy, she along with other board members still felt the public’s ire.

“I’m glad for her sake,” said Clerk-Recorder Gary L. Granville of Bergeson’s move to Sacramento.

“She’s a magnificent woman who walked into this terrible blight and shouldered it very well,” he added. “It was like she walked in the door and saw the house was on fire.”

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Bergeson’s Track Record

Supervisor Marian Bergeson has a long history of public service. Elected supervisor two years ago, she had an ambitious list of government reform proposals but hit roadblocks in her efforts to significantly change county government. A summary of her public service and successes and setbacks as a supervisor:

CAREER PATH

1965: Elected to Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s board of trustees after serving for years as an elementary school teacher

1978: Elected to state Assembly; focused on education issues and reform of teacher credentialing process

1984: Elected to state Senate; pushed through legislation to improve Orange County environment and expand recreational facilities; known for clashes with Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown

1990: Defeated in bid for lieutenant governor

1992: Named most effective Republican in the Senate by Capital Journal magazine

1994: Elected to County Board of Supervisors, succeeding retiring Thomas F. Riley

1996: Resigns from board to become secretary for education and child development

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SUPERVISORIAL RECORD

Successes

* Worked on agreement with developers to preserve environmentally sensitive land in the Newport Coast area and San Joaquin Hills.

* Helped secure funding for Upper Newport Bay Regional Park and a badly needed bay-dredging project.

* Pushed Board of Supervisors to place a measure on November ballot that would limit supervisors to two consecutive terms in office.

Setbacks

* Despite months of trying, was unable to broker a compromise between supporters and opponents of a commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

* Her ambitious plan to reduce scope of county government and convert Board of Supervisors to a part-time body failed to win much support.

* Failed to win backing of colleagues for proposal to televise Board of Supervisors meetings.

Source: Times reports

Researched by SHELBY GRAD / For The Times