O.C. Pension System Gets Veteran Manager

The Orange County Retirement Board on Friday selected a veteran pension fund manager to be the new administrator of the county’s $2.9-billion system.

Ray Fleming is now assistant administrator of the city of San Diego’s Employee Retirement System and is the former head of the San Bernardino County Retirement System.

“It a pleasure to have someone of his caliber,” said Thomas Lightvoet, chairman of the pension board.

The Orange County system, which handles the pensions of more than 20,000 current and retired government employees, has been without a permanent administrator since January, when the board dismissed Mary-Jean Hackwood.

Hackwood was accused of abusing her authority by demanding that employees run personal errands for her.

Some system employees expressed concern earlier this week that Fleming had experienced difficulty with workers at a previous job. But Lightvoet said Friday that the fears were unfounded and that Fleming received strong reviews from employees who worked under him.