Incumbent Hits Some Turbulence

Water district races in Orange County are usually yawners, and not much has changed in 2000, except in a far corner of the county where the 25-year incumbent’s profession has stirred a trickle of controversy.

Orange resident John V. Fonley, 76, has represented a northeast section of the county on the Orange County Water District board since 1975 and called himself a civil engineer for almost half a century.

The showdown in Division 2--one of 31 water and special district contests in the county this fall--is unique: There’s a hint of controversy to it. From the Costa Mesa Sanitation District to the Yorba Linda Water District, special district elections are not generally known as raucous affairs.

Fonley, who earned a civil engineering degree from USC in 1951, is being taken on by Denis Bilodeau, who questions Fonley’s right to call himself a civil engineer because he is not licensed by the state.

State officials said Fonley is unlicensed, a fact that he does not dispute.

“I never said I was licensed. I didn’t need to be licensed because the jobs I had didn’t require that I be registered and licensed,” said Fonley, a former Orange Water Department superintendent and city public works director.

Mariann Fagunes, who investigates complaints about unlicensed engineers for the state Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, said, “You have to be a licensed civil engineer to represent yourself as that to the public.”

“A lot of times people call themselves ‘engineer’ because it’s an in-house title given to them by an organization or agency. We get involved only when an unlicensed engineer calls himself an engineer in public,” she said.

But rather than “hunt them down with the engineering police,” Fagunes said, unqualified people who call themselves engineers in public receive letters advising them of the law and ordering them to stop.

Other than saying that Fonley was unlicensed, Fagunes declined to comment further.

Bilodeau, 32, is a licensed engineer and former aide to Supervisor Todd Spitzer. He was appointed to the Orange County Water Task Force six months ago and serves as a director. The task force advises the Board of Supervisors on water issues, and members do not draw a salary.

Bilodeau created a minor flap of his own when he attempted to list himself as an “Orange County water commissioner” in his ballot statement. Fonley objected, noting that there is no such job and no Orange County Water Commission. And so, Bilodeau is listed as “director, water task force” instead.

Fonley said Bilodeau’s challenge has pushed him into the unusual position of having to raise money to finance his reelection campaign. Both candidates said they plan to spend about $10,000 on the race.

“I’ve had challengers before, but we usually just relied on our statements [in the voters pamphlet]. This is the first serious challenge I’ve had in a while,” Fonley said.

Bilodeau has made Fonley’s board-related expenses over the years a campaign issue as well, charging that Fonley “often takes vacations paid for by the district.”

According to district figures, Fonley’s fees and travel expenses have totaled $103,246 since 1995, the most of any Orange County Water District board member running for reelection. His travel expenses during the period totaled $34,271, a figure more than twice the amount of the incumbent with the second-highest travel expenses. Board members earn $150 for every meeting they attend but can not be paid for more than 10 meetings a month.

Water district spokesman Ron Wildermuth said Fonley’s travel expenses are high because he “has agreed to more responsibility than other directors since he is retired and has more time.”

Fonley said he tries to get “the senior citizens discount whenever I can” while traveling on water district business.

The other Orange County Water District races:

* Division 3. Incumbent Lawrence P. Kraemer Jr. of Yorba Linda is being challenged by Richard L. Fraim of Buena Park. Kraemer’s district-related expenses have totaled $40,018 since 1995.

* Division 6. Willa Johns and Samuel E. Allerton, both Huntington Beach residents, are challenging incumbent Wesley M. Bannister. Bannister has reported $79,462 in expenses in the last five years.

* Division 4. Former Westminster Mayor Frank G. Fry is opposing incumbent PhilipL. Anthony, a former county supervisor. Anthony has reported $102,871 in expenses since 1995.