Mittermeier Gets It From Both Sides

A decision this week by the Board of Supervisors to remove planning for the former El Toro Marine base from County Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier came after months of intense lobbying by opposing sides involved in the El Toro airport debate, according to those familiar with the details.

Though on opposing sides, pro- and anti-airport forces shared a common message: Take the issue away from Mittermeier, roundly regarded as inflexible in her single-minded approach to building an airport at the base but skillful at handling all other county matters.

An aborted attempt last month to create a separate El Toro office failed after it was tied to a vote to fire Mittermeier. Only board Chairman Chuck Smith and Todd Spitzer backed the move, with colleagues Jim Silva, Cynthia P. Coad and Tom Wilson backing Mittermeier.

It was Silva who broke the logjam Tuesday by proposing the new office, with Mittermeier continuing as chief executive for all other county business. The unanimous vote was cast despite warnings from Mittermeier that taking away El Toro would violate her contract.

Within hours of Tuesday’s vote, Mittermeier and her attorney, Wylie Aitken, rejected the board’s decision and, in essence, challenged supervisors to terminate her contract when they meet again June 6.

Silva, who supported Mittermeier a month ago, was beseeched by pro-airport forces angry at his earlier vote to keep her, sources familiar with the lobbying said. They told him that only a bold move to separate the airport would put the project back on track and remove its contentiousness from carrying over to other county issues--something about which Silva had complained for months.

“Jan’s been a good CEO and I’ve supported her,” Silva said. “This is the largest land use issue in the county. It needs someone who can concentrate on it.”

At the same time, Wilson was lobbied by airport foes, who have long complained that Mittermeier was too secretive and defensive to provide critical leadership for building a consensus on the final El Toro development plan. They didn’t buy Wilson’s rationale that her mishandling of the issue actually helped the anti-airport side.

Coad, who has backed Mittermeier since joining the board last year, agreed to approve the new office but has repeatedly refused to vote to fire her.

In the end, the resolve to take control over El Toro presented a rare show of unity among board members accustomed to fractured votes on nearly every issue.

The second move toward detente was the board’s unanimous pledge Tuesday to try to salvage a handful of recreation programs at the base slated to close July 1. The programs are losing money, but critics accused Mittermeier of thwarting attempts to make them more profitable because she fears they might interfere with the ultimate airport project.

Ironically, it was Mittermeier who revived the idea of creating a new El Toro office. She issued a memo last Friday proposing to put Planning Director Tom Mathews in charge, with Mathews reporting directly to her. She also promised more open communication with the public and board members.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer placed Mittermeier’s memo on Tuesday’s board agenda, calling it a good start but one that was too little, too late. Silva then jumped in with his proposal.

Spitzer on Wednesday said Mittermeier has the option of accepting the decision of the board, which collectively is her boss. If she fights the board on El Toro, “Jan’s future is up to Jan.”

One name floated for months to possibly take over El Toro planning is Stan Oftelie, executive director of the Orange County Business Council. Though the business council supports an airport at El Toro, Oftelie extended an olive branch to airport foes, urging supervisors to level the playing field by studying a non-airport alternative to the same degree as the airport.

Oftelie, formerly executive director of the Orange County Transportation Authority, said Wednesday he spoke with supervisors about El Toro last month but hasn’t met recently with them.

The board’s pro-airport members, meanwhile, continued to shy from criticizing Mittermeier. They said freeing her from the contentious El Toro issue would give her more time for her areas of strength: reducing the county’s bankruptcy debt, reorganizing government and day-to-day operations.

Mittermeier said El Toro planning is part of her job, and she intends to keep handling it. Her job contract gives her authority “to manage all functions and operations of the county of Orange” except those assigned to elected officials. She also has direct authority to hire all department heads, according to her contract.

Sources within county government said Mittermeier was offered a lump-sum payment equal to her severance package--valued at about $170,000--if she resigned. She declined the offer.