Supervisors Elect Silva Board Chairman

The Board of Supervisors this week unanimously elected Jim Silva as its chairman, making him the first chair to have joined the board after Orange County’s historic 1994 bankruptcy.

Silva, a Huntington Beach resident and former city mayor, entered office in January 1995 and spent the next two years helping guide the county out of bankruptcy. He said the experience stays with him today.

“The mere fact that I was spending 18 hours a day trying to keep the county afloat makes me very cautious in my approach,” he said. “As chairman, I am going to continue to push for responsibility in the way we spend money and handle our finances.”

Silva, who has one of the most conservative voting records on the board, said his top priorities for 1998 will be continuing the county’s bankruptcy recovery as well as public safety and child protection.

The board on Tuesday also elected Thomas W. Wilson as vice chairman.