ORANGE COUNTY IN BANKRUPTCY : BOND TICKER : Panel Backs Appointed Officials

A county committee has recommended that the jobs of treasurer-tax collector, clerk-recorder, auditor-controller and public administrator be appointed by the Board of Supervisors rather than elected by the voters.

Filling the positions by appointment will result in the selection of “the best people for the job, not the people who run the best campaigns,” said Bruce Sumner, a retired judge and chairman of the Orange County Charter Committee.

“The problem is when you get elected--and this is not casting any aspersions--politics becomes very important,” he added.

The idea of appointing some top county officials is a byproduct of the county bankruptcy, which many blame on former Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron, who was reelected to office last year even though his opponent raised questions about his investment strategies.

The committee was selected by the Board of Supervisors to consider changes in county government.

Sumner suggested that voters decide whether to make the four jobs filled by appointment during the same June 27 election that they will decide the fate of the proposed half-cent county sale-tax increase.

It remains unclear if there is still time to place the jobs measure on the ballot.

Under the committee’s plan, the sheriff, assessor and district attorney would still be elected. Sumner said state law requires that voter choose those officials.

The committee will deliver a final report to the Board of Supervisors on April 10.

Both Sides Greet Ruling on Venue

Attorneys for Orange County and investors in the county’s bond pool both claimed victory on Thursday after U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge John E. Ryan determined that his Santa Ana courtroom was the proper venue for disgruntled pool investors to take legal action against the county.

Ryan was responding to legal motions filed by the city of Huntington Beach, the Municipal Water District of Orange County and the Yorba Linda Water District, which have funds in the bankrupt pool. The investors had asked for permission to seek a state court ruling on whether the county should be forced to return the funds because a legal trust existed between the county and investors.

Ryan ruled that his court has the power to make that determination, paving the way for dissident pool investors to initiate legal action against the county. Attorneys for Huntington Beach and the water districts said that they’d soon file papers in Bankruptcy Court.

“We won,” Huntington Beach City Attorney Gail C. Hutton said after the hearing. “Justice was served today.”

County bankruptcy attorney Bruce Bennett said that the county was content to deal with pool investors’ legal challenges in Bankruptcy Court.

Compiled by Shelby Grad, with Greg Johnson.