O.C. Cities Vie for Seats on Transit Board

Orange County’s largest cities are trying to prove that size matters as they seek guaranteed seats on a key transportation panel -- the first step in a possible political makeover that could lead to a concentration of power in the traditionally decentralized county.

The issue revolves around Assembly Bill 710, which would create new, permanent seats on an expanded Orange County Transportation Authority board for the most populous city in each of the county’s five supervisorial districts: Santa Ana, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Irvine and Mission Viejo.

The bill by Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) could also open the door to population-based representation on other boards, even that of the 66-year-old League of California Cities itself.

Currently, the Orange County division of the league names representatives to the OCTA seats that are reserved for municipalities and rotates the appointments among all local cities. The league opposes the bill, putting it at odds with the county’s largest cities.

To show their displeasure with the league’s opposition, Santa Ana, Anaheim and Irvine have withheld $120,000 in annual dues from the local league.

“To me, the bottom line is that there’s got to be some equity,” said Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, who says Anaheim residents do not have the voice their numbers should dictate.

The outcome of the current standoff could trigger a political shift in the traditionally decentralized county by concentrating power on regional boards in the hands of large cities. “It’s definitely about who’s going to be in charge,” said Janet Huston, executive director of the Orange County division of the league.

Correa’s bill would change the makeup of the OCTA board, which has six members representing cities, including at least one from each supervisorial district; four county supervisors; and one public member. A 12th, nonvoting seat is reserved for the director of the local California Department of Transportation district.

Correa’s bill would increase the number of board members to 18, giving seats to all five county supervisors, a mayor or council member from the most populous cities in each supervisorial district, another elected city official from municipalities in each district and two public members, in addition to the Caltrans district director.

The league’s opposition to the bill angered officials in nine cities. In a July 8 letter to league President Susan Ritschel of San Clemente, the mayors of those cities -- representing half the county’s 3 million residents -- protested the league’s taking a stance on AB 710 without a vote of its entire Orange County membership.

The mayors complained that their cities’ positions supporting the bill were misrepresented to state legislators by league lobbyists. Anaheim and Santa Ana had their own lobbyists arguing on behalf of the bill.

Huston said a membership vote wasn’t needed. The group’s executive committee voted to oppose the bill unless it is amended to change the way city representatives would be chosen and to phase out the authority’s public members.

Eighteen of the county’s 34 cities, representing 1 million residents, have opposed the bill as written, Ritschel said.

That view rankled officials of larger cities, who said they haven’t been given proper deference for the amount and breadth of problems they handle, including urbanization and traffic.

“We warrant a greater measure of consideration than we’ve been getting,” said Irvine Mayor Larry Agran. “We pay our dues according to size. Why shouldn’t we be represented that way?”

Correa said he jumped into the issue after helping scuttle a 2001 bill by Assemblyman Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) that probably would have guaranteed seats on the transportation panel for the county’s four largest cities, by adding population to the criteria by which cities were selected for board membership. Harman said the larger cities deserved an automatic role in determining what projects were proposed and funded.

At the time Harman introduced his ill-fated bill, Huntington Beach, the county’s third-largest city, hadn’t had a voice on the transportation agency for 14 years. The city still doesn’t, though the current panel has representatives from Anaheim, Santa Ana and Irvine.

Correa said he spent the next two years looking for a way to satisfy Orange County’s larger cities, while preserving a voice for smaller cities.

His AB 710 bill passed the Assembly without any no votes; a Senate vote is expected by September.

“It hasn’t been my intent to ram this bill through at anyone’s expense,” Correa said. “We’ve had these issues in the past that have driven wedges in the county. I don’t want that. Most people will be satisfied when they see the way it works.”

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City representation

The 2002-2003 Executive Steering Committee of the Orange County division of the League of California Cities is composed of nine members representing seven cities. Those cities make up about 11% of the county’s 3-million population.

*--* Name Title City Population* Brenda Ross Councilwoman Laguna Woods 16,800 Bruce Channing City manager Laguna Hills 33,800 Bev Perry Mayor Brea 36,850 Marty Simonoff Councilman Brea Tim Keenan Councilman Cypress 47,250 Susan Ritschel Councilwoman San Clemente 54,900 Richard Dixon Mayor Lake Forest 76,600 Peter Herzog Councilman Lake Forest Cathryn DeYoung Councilwoman Laguna Niguel 63,500

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*Based on Jan. 1, 2002, figures

Sources: Orange County Division League of California Cities; Center for Demographic Research at CSU Fullerton