Orange and San Diego County Supervisors Join Forces

It was a historic occasion and, as such, deserved to be marked by the exchange of appropriate regalia.

The Orange County supervisors got shoulder bags, T-shirts, poinsettia plants and tickets to San Diego Wild Animal Park.

Their San Diego County counterparts got shoulder bags, pin sets and matchbook-sized, fold-out maps of Orange County.

“A map of Orange County with its overcrowded transportation routes in matchbook size--what a good idea,” said San Diego Board of Supervisors Chairman Susan Golding. “Where are our Disneyland tickets?”

And so began the first-ever joint meeting of the boards of California’s second (San Diego) and third (Orange) largest counties Tuesday in San Diego. While no momentous decisions were reached, the supervisors discussed four areas of mutual concern and agreed to direct their staffs to work together to find solutions.

They also took a few potshots at their giant neighbor to the north, underscoring their mutual affinity and their differences with more heavily urban Los Angeles County.

Orange County Supervisor Don R. Roth, noting that both Orange and San Diego counties have overcrowded jails, said the two are on their way to becoming like Los Angeles.

“Are we going to catch up to L.A., where an individual serves one day for every 33 days of sentencing?” Roth asked.

At another point during the 75-minute meeting, several supervisors attacked Los Angeles and other urban counties for taking what they described as disproportionately large shares of tax dollars from the state. Both Orange and San Diego counties rank near the bottom of the state’s 58 counties in per capita receipt of general purpose revenues.

All five San Diego supervisors attended the afternoon meeting. But only three Orange County supervisors, along with several staff members, boarded a special county bus in Santa Ana for the trip. Supervisors Gaddi H. Vasquez and Roger R. Stanton, who had other commitments, did not attend.

Policy areas discussed at the meeting included transportation and air quality, waste management and disposal, courts and jails, and state funding for county programs.

The two boards, noting that they are linked by the San Diego Freeway and the LOSSAN (Los Angeles-San Diego) rail corridor, agreed to create a joint task force to address several transportation issues, including car-pool lanes, traffic management programs, land-use practices and air quality.

High-Speed Train

Roth also made a presentation on a 250-m.p.h. train proposed to run between Las Vegas and Anaheim. San Diego County Supervisor Brian P. Bilbray warned Roth that state-of-the-art technology can be troublesome, and emphasized San Diego’s success with older technology on its own light-rail system.

Answered Roth, quite proud of his work to bring the super-speed train terminus to Anaheim: “It’s not something that just came in on a load of pumpkins and won’t operate.”

Roth also presented his plan for a regional jail in the desert in eastern Riverside County, which would substitute for the proposed Gypsum Canyon facility that he opposes. San Diego County, like its northern neighbor, has severely overcrowded jails, but is more in need of short-term facilities near county courtrooms than a long-term jail, Bilbray said.

Still, while San Diego County would not be a likely participant in a regional jail, Golding directed staff members to examine possible areas of cooperation.

“Even though it may seem as though we have not taken a number of significant actions, in reality we have,” Golding said after various task force panels were directed and studies launched. “Together, we should be a formidable force.”

Orange County Supervisors Chairman Thomas F. Riley agreed: “We can throw our weight around a little bit.”