TIMES O.C. POLL : Supervisors Work Largely in Anonymity

Many Orange County voters have grown increasingly dissatisfied with county government but know too little about the job being done by county supervisors to hold them personally accountable, a new poll has found.

The Times Orange County Poll found that the five members of the Board of Supervisors, who oversee a $3.8-billion budget, work largely in anonymity, with most voters holding no opinion about them.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Roger R. Stanton is the greatest enigma of all, with nearly seven out of 10 voters countywide saying they were unable to register a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of him.

Don R. Roth, currently being investigated in connection with conflict of interest charges, was unknown to 62%, while Gaddi H. Vasquez, running unopposed for another term, gets a “don’t know” from 58%. And Harriett M. Wieder, now in her fourth four-year term, was unknown to 57%.

Even Supervisor Thomas. F. Riley--the senior board member with nearly two decades of service--was unknown to 51% of the voters polled.

“I don’t even really know who (the supervisors) are,” said Lillian Gauck, 51, of Placentia, who took part in the poll. “It’s really a shame we don’t know more about our officials . . . but there’s a lot else going on in my life.”

The Times Orange County Poll, conducted by Mark Baldassare & Associates of Irvine, sampled 600 registered voters between May 16 and 19. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.

Voters were asked whether they held a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of each of the five supervisors and how they viewed the board’s performance in seven areas of government, including planning for roads and development, leadership and integrity.

The supervisors are elected from five districts. Yet even among their own constituents, they are largely unknown. A majority of voters in three of the five districts answered “don’t know” when asked their opinion of their own supervisor. The exceptions were the districts of Riley and Wieder, where 44% held no opinion about each.

Several political analysts attributed the supervisors’ lack of name recognition to the absence of a major television station in Orange County, which would bring elected leaders’ faces into local homes regularly.

“A very substantial portion of the electorate get their news from TV,” said Dana Reed, an attorney who specializes in political law. “And the fact is that Orange County supervisors don’t get much air time.”

At the same time that most voters were generally unfamiliar with individual supervisors, they were overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the board’s work. In four of the seven job-performance categories, the board’s ratings have fallen markedly since 1988.

The county’s handling of the budget drew the most negative response from voters.

Only 22% gave the board an “excellent” or “good” rating in this area, down from 36% measured in a Times Orange County Poll four years ago. In the latest poll, 78% judged the supervisors’ handling of county finances “fair” or “poor.”

County officials for the last several months have been wrestling with a budget shortfall of more than $60 million in an attempt to avoid potentially massive layoffs and cutbacks in the coming fiscal year. The supervisors are expected to debate the latest budget plan next week.

The board drew only slightly better grades for its handling of health and human services, with 26% giving that category a favorable rating, down from 41% four years ago.

For overall leadership, 27% awarded a favorable vote to the supervisors, down from 37% in 1988.

The board got its highest marks for “fostering the county as a place to do business,” with 40% of voters giving an excellent or good rating. However, that mark has fallen from 69% four years ago.

Of the seven categories of governing that were rated, only the board’s performance in “planning for roads and development” received higher marks than it did four years ago. This time, transportation drew a favorable rating from 37% of voters, up from 23% in 1988.

As for representing the views of their constituents, supervisors received favorable ratings from only three out of 10 residents, unchanged from four years ago. One in three residents gave the supervisors good marks for “maintaining integrity and high ethical standards.”

William R. Mitchell, president of the Orange County chapter of Common Cause, said the poll shows that local voters are caught up in a nationwide wave of resentment against the political Establishment.

“There’s just a general dissatisfaction with government and the political process, and it paints a very broad brush,” Mitchell said. “The public is frustrated, and it’s not inclined to differentiate between governmental bodies. Everybody gets tarred.”

Poll respondent Elizabeth Jones, 66, of Santa Ana said increased crime, traffic and other problems during her four decades in Orange County have tarnished her opinion about the area.

“This is not a pleasant place to live anymore,” she said. “I used to think how lucky I was to live in California, but not anymore.”

Jones holds politicians in general to blame. “For the most part, I’ll vote the incumbents out,” she said.

The poll found that both countywide and in his own district, Supervisor Vasquez--who has often been mentioned as a possible candidate for higher office--had the broadest popular approval.

Countywide, 28% of voters had a favorable opinion of Vasquez, while 14% held an unfavorable view.

In his district, which stretches from Brea down through Trabuco Canyon and Mission Viejo, the positive response was even higher: with 37% rating him favorably to 13% unfavorable.

Supervisor Roth, currently under investigation by the district attorney’s office and the FBI over allegations of influence peddling, had the lowest grades countywide--with 19% holding a favorable opinion of him and 19% an unfavorable one. In Roth’s own district, it was 27% favorable and 13% unfavorable.

Riley drew the lowest ratings within his own district, in South County. Among his constituents, unfavorable responses outnumbered the favorable ones, 29% to 27%.

Wieder’s ratings were similarly low, with 28% favorable and 28% unfavorable in her district. And Stanton drew favorable ratings from 30% of his constituents, and 14% unfavorable.

Riley said the poll results--and in particular, the large number of “don’t knows”--reflect the fact that people aren’t familiar with the wide range of services and operations provided by county government and the supervisors.

“There are many things we’re working on countywide . . . that I doubt many people know about,” Riley said.

Supervisors Stanton, Roth, and Wieder declined comment on the poll. Vasquez was out of the country.

Poll respondent Wanda McNeil, 66, of Costa Mesa was typical in her views of the five supervisors, saying she didn’t have any opinion about four of the five.

“I haven’t heard anything about them and can’t say anything good, bad or indifferent,” she said.

Wieder was the only supervisor about whom McNeil registered an opinion. But even there, McNeil said her unfavorable opinion was based not on Wieder’s performance, but her sex.

“I’m not in favor of these women running for these offices,” she said. “I think more women should stay home and take care of their kids. That’s what’s the matter--these kids don’t have any supervision today.”

Guy Giemont, 42, a stockbroker who lives in Irvine, said he gave “don’t know” responses for all five supervisors because he is so disgusted with high taxes, government over-regulation, and politics in general that he doesn’t think it matters who is elected.

“It doesn’t really matter who’s in there, not the way I see it,” he said. “There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between any of them.”

How the Supervisors Rate

At least half of Orange County voters say they do not know enough about the county’s Board of Supervisors to have an opinion of the five members. A look at how voters feel about the supervisors and their job ratings:

Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of each of these members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors?

Favorable Unfavorable Don’t Know Roger R. Stanton 19% 12% 69% Don R. Roth 19 19 62 Gaddi H. Vasquez 28 14 58 Harriett M. Wieder 23 20 57 Thomas F. Riley 27 22 51

Favorability within the supervisors’ own districts:

Favorable Unfavorable Don’t Know Stanton 30% 14% 56% Roth 27 13 60 Vasquez 37 13 50 Wieder 28 28 44 Riley 27 29 44

In the past few years, how would you rate the supervisors’ handling of the following areas of government?

Excellent Good Fair Poor Providing overall leadership 2% 25% 54% 19% Fostering the county as a 6 34 36 24 place to do business Planning for roads and development 5 32 33 30 Maintaining integrity and 2 32 44 22 high ethical standards Representing the views of 3 26 43 28 local residents Providing adequate health 2 24 41 33 and human services Managing the county’s budget 1 21 45 33

Excellent/good time trends:

1988 1992 Change Providing overall leadership 37% 27% -10 Fostering the county as 69 40 -29 a place to do business Planning for roads 23 37 +14 and development Maintaining integrity * 34 * and high ethical standards Representing the views of 30 29 -1 local residents Providing adequate health 41 26 -15 and human services Managing the county’s budget 36 22 -14

* Not asked in 1988

Source: Times Orange County Poll