Spitzer’s Take on Mittermeier

* In his rebuttal to columns by Jerry Hicks, Supervisor Todd Spitzer made what I consider totally inappropriate remarks about CEO Jan Mittermeier (Letters, July 12).

To hurl the charge of incompetence and call for the CEO’s removal in a letter to the editor goes far beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior for a supervisor.

To raise the specter of a repeat bankruptcy under her management is outrageous rhetoric. These are serious charges which should be--and normally are--thrashed out in a closed-door personnel session where the CEO would have a chance to defend herself.

Those of us who observe county government on a regular basis see a vast improvement over the days when a powerless administrative officer was in charge.

Under Mittermeier’s leadership, the supervisors have held public workshops to discuss and set long-term goals. A chief financial officer has been hired and a financial plan to implement the goals has been established. The CEO’s management style may irk Spitzer, but it’s hard to see any justification for the charge of incompetence.

JEAN ASKHAM

League of Women Voters of Orange County

Fullerton

* It was with a great deal of gratitude and satisfaction that I read Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s “Rebuttal to Hicks Columns.”

I too read the Hicks column in total disbelief. Spitzer’s constituents here in the 3rd District should be grateful for his diligence and forthright execution of his management responsibilities, apparently somewhat foreign to some of his colleagues on the board and the CEO.

An example of this was Spitzer’s recent veto of the obscene $20,000 salary increase, over three years, along with an unbelievable parachute clause for CEO Jan Mittermeier.

Without Supervisor Spitzer’s strong opposition [to it], that certainly would have been authorized!

The county needs another supervisor, like a Todd Spitzer clone, to got some ongoing good business sense into its operations. I sincerely hope that will occur in the next election.

MARV GONSIOR

Fullerton