Lesson of the Lewis Case

Government in Orange County is a complex thing. In addition to the county government, where supervisorial districts are fiefdoms, there is a vast network of city governments, school districts and special districts. That makes it imperative that those few officials actually charged with fiscal oversight of county finances do their job.

Last week, the long criminal investigation into the causes of the county’s bankruptcy ended almost three years to the day after the initial declaration. Charges against one of the county’s principal overseers, Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis, were dropped. Lewis was the last of six current and former county officials hit with bankruptcy-related charges.

Though he is now off the hook on a charge of willful misconduct in office, the fact remains that his failure to properly alert the county to impending disaster was crucial. Lewis, in fact, was one of a small group of carefully positioned public officials who had clear responsibility for spotting trouble on the horizon.

As it happened, Lewis did issue a warning about the reckless investment practices of Robert L. Citron, then the county treasurer-tax collector, but it now appears to have been a very quiet alarm. Lewis was not singly responsible for oversight, but he was properly criticized for not calling sufficient attention to the problem.

Much has changed today in county investing under Treasurer-Tax Collector John M.W. Moorlach. The lesson of the Lewis case for the long term is that in Orange County’s complicated governmental structure, those charged with minding the store need to do so.