ORANGE COUNTY IN BANKRUPTCY : Watchdog Panel’s Ability in Doubt After 2nd Resignation

The chairman of a new watchdog committee monitoring the Orange County treasurer’s office questioned the group’s future usefulness after a second committee member quit Wednesday.

Jeffery M. Thomas, chairman of the Treasury Oversight Committee, said the departure of two of its five members and a lack of staff are undermining the committee’s ability to do its job.

“I don’t get the feeling people really care about us in the county,” Thomas said. “We can’t operate like this, but I’m determined not to let this committee fail.”

County supervisors formed the watchdog group after the Dec. 6 bankruptcy.

Committee member William K. Mawhorter stepped down from the panel Wednesday, saying that complying with state conflict-of-interest codes would have affected his business interests.

Mawhorter, chief executive officer of Huntington Beach-based Allegiance Capital Inc., said he would have to abstain from too many investment decisions because his business deals with many of the same Wall Street firms that the county plans to work with.

Last month, committee member Parker Kennedy quit, citing the committee’s time demands, officials said.

And, after the committee’s meeting Wednesday, a third member, Gary A. Pulford, a vice president of First American Trust Co., said he is considering resigning because of the conflict-of-interest issue.

“It’s a concern,” Pulford said. “I don’t know what kind of oversight the committee will be able to do now.”

County Treasurer-Tax Collector John M.W. Moorlach said he is frustrated about the recent departures but realizes that the business interests of some members could raise the “perception” of conflicts.

Each member of the Board of Supervisors had one appointment to the committee, and they all picked people with strong backgrounds in financial matters.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, who appointed Kennedy, and Supervisor Jim Silva, who appointed Mawhorter, may have to name new appointees with less financial background or who are retired, Thomas said.

Thomas also said he plans to ask the Board of Supervisors to provide the committee with some staff support.

“We’re trying to do all this work, but we have no help,” Thomas said. “We need to find out what they expect this committee to do. We need to see what their expectations are and how they compare to our expectations of what we should do.”