Wishy-Washy Supervisor Silva Still Deserves His Dunce Cap

Jim Silva is all confused, and who can blame him? This El Toro airport issue is a sticky one, and Silva has only had about 10 years to study it. By my calculation, he ought to have a firm grip on things by about 2007.

Unfortunately, as a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Silva will have to cast a number of votes on the airport before then. Based on his performance this week, we’re all in for quite a ride. On the learning curve, he seems to be about one step beyond asking “Say, how do they get those big things up in the air, anyway?”

I kid the supervisor, because he kids us. He can take a joke, and so can we.

Since joining the board in 1995, Silva has perfected the role of the good-hearted and amiable dunce. Picture Homer Simpson in a suit and tie. Former county CEO William Popejoy used to roll his eyes when discussing Silva’s grasp of the bankruptcy crisis that greeted him in his early days as a supervisor, but Silva got the last laugh by helping usher Popejoy out of office.

Silva generally is seen as a good guy and an honest officeholder, but one who benefits greatly from the counsel of others. He doesn’t seem to have supervisors Chuck Smith or Cynthia P. Coad’s passion for the proposed airport, or Todd Spitzer’s instinct for asking the unasked question.

Until now, Silva has sided with the pro-airport forces--probably because that’s what he thought his constituents wanted and because airport backer George Argyros has thrown fund-raisers for him.

So Silva has been the consistent third vote in the 3-2 majority that has propelled the momentum to build the airport at the abandoned El Toro Marine base.

You always had the feeling his conviction was about an inch deep. Four days ago, we got proof of that.

Keep in mind that the five board members are conditioned to vote 3 to 2 on airport issues, large and small. Monday’s meeting was a large one--the board majority was primed to approve an environmental impact report and a master plan that would start the clock on the federal government’s transfer of the base to the county.

Silva then electrified the room (a phrase never seen in print before) by voting with Spitzer and anti-airport supervisor Tom Wilson to put the airport issue to a countywide vote before moving ahead with board approval. Because polls in the last couple of years have indicated that airport opponents now hold sway, Silva’s vote could easily be interpreted as squelching the airport.

Pro-airport supervisors Smith and Coad must have flashed to the Cold War movie “The Manchurian Candidate” and wondered if Silva’s brain had been infiltrated by nefarious manipulators. In any case, Coad immediately called for a five-minute recess, during which she and Smith went backstage, turned Silva upside-down and held him by the heels to see if anything shook loose.

Smith later lamented that Silva had “gone south” on the airport.

It must be said, however, that Silva’s vote wasn’t completely without context. He has talked before about having a once-and-for-all countywide vote on the future of El Toro. Perhaps, it was thought, he had cast an 11th-hour vote to back up his words.

Giddily, the anti-airport faction lauded Silva for his “act of conscience” and welcomed him into the fold like a long-lost friend.

As acts of conscience go, this one proved rather fleeting.

Later that same afternoon, Silva already was talking like he didn’t know what or why he had done what he did. When pressed for elaboration, he couldn’t or wouldn’t. By the next day, he backtracked completely, saying he shouldn’t have cast his vote as he did and was now securely back in the pro-airport camp.

His brush with fame had ended. Reality had returned to the supervisor’s world, and he realized he should not have spoken out of conviction.

That’s where things stand now, but I’ve heard the waffling supervisor is working on a new plan: The new airport would operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and be closed the other four days.

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com.