Group Aims to Give Voters More Say in Government

Acknowledging rampant public mistrust of government, the Orange County Business Council launched an effort this week designed to restore faith in local elected leaders and invited residents to get involved.

The council unveiled its Center for a New Orange County to a room filled with government and elected leaders, who often squirmed at how they are viewed outside their offices.

The intent is to bring one or more initiatives before voters as a way to make government more responsive, the business council’s Julie Puentes said. Voters this month approved a new county charter, which contains a section on filling vacancies on the Board of Supervisors. The rest of the charter can be determined with later votes, Puentes said.

Focus groups conducted with county residents last month found that suspicion of government and institutions is higher here than elsewhere in the country, said Dan Yankelovich of Viewpoint Learning Inc., which conducted the meetings.

That mistrust translated into support for slowing growth and spurning government, he said. Both were defense mechanisms born of a lack of confidence in government’s ability to handle problems, he said.

Even those who tend to believe that government is able to solve problems were distrustful of local elected leaders, said Stan Oftelie, the business council’s executive director. “They don’t think that what government is doing is necessarily bad, they just can’t find [what they’re doing],” he said.

Many of the focus group participants said that fixing the county’s ailing sewage systems, streets and freeways, cleaning up pollution and accommodating growth are the most pressing priorities.