O.C. Job Search Pattern: Look Far, Pick Near

With former County Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier gone, the county must now go through a selection process for the top government job with supervisors poised to direct a nationwide talent search for her replacement.

But in similar searches in the past, supervisors inevitably have looked far but picked locally, selecting someone already in the county fold.

“I think it’s either fiction and they have no intent of looking elsewhere or there’s a [secret] rule and it requires the job must go to a local person,” said Tricia Harrigan, county government observer for the League of Women Voters.

One of the most significant reforms resulting from the county’s 1994 bankruptcy was the creation of a stronger county executive position, said Mark Baldassare, who wrote about Orange County’s bankruptcy in his book, “When Government Fails.”

“There is talent outside the county,” Baldassare said, “and it might be a good time to bring in some new faces, who could use their talents and skills, where they’ve learned from other situations to try and use them here.”

Other counties such as Los Angeles and San Diego have gone outside the county structure in their recruitment efforts, Baldassare said.

The board wants to hire an executive search firm that specializes in government. They also did not preclude Michael Schumacher, appointed interim CEO on Tuesday, from seeking Mittermeier’s job.

“What I’m looking for is someone excited about challenges,” said Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad. “Orange County is a vibrant community and it needs someone knowledgeable of Orange County and that could be someone out of state or locally.”

Supervisor Todd Spitzer said he “wouldn’t close the door” on any potential candidate, inside county government or outside.

But Spitzer said that because of Mittermeier’s authoritarian management style, some board members may seek to recover lost authority.

“I think that because Jan abused her power that there’s been a natural, knee-jerk reaction, including from me, to take back that power. [Mittermeier] essentially locked the board out of the decision-making process.”

Spitzer added that the board “owes it to itself” and the county to have an open discussion about the talent needed, including the organization and lines of authority between the board and the CEO’s job.

In the past, the county has embarked on talent searches for executive directors of its many agencies such as those that oversee health care, housing and other departments, but usually the top post is filled by promoting executives from within.

Frank Eley, head of the Orange County Employees Assn., which represents more than 17,000 members, said the association has also “noticed the pattern,” but added that promoting from within has long been ingrained in the county government culture.

“It always seems to be in-house,” Eley said. “But it also would be hard to get someone from the outside to know the many different types of agencies and business the county is in, and that takes a lot of advanced knowledge. If you come from, say, the private sector, it’s really a different world.”

One who tried was William Popejoy, a Newport Beach businessman, hired to replace Ernie Schneider, who was the county’s chief administrative officer when the bankruptcy hit.

But Popejoy often clashed with supervisors who were envious of Popejoy’s right to make personnel changes and other decisions under his title as chief executive officer.

Schneider, who was put on administrative leave, was eventually fired. Initially a supervisor’s assistant, Schneider was promoted to director of the county’s powerful Environmental Management Agency and eventually assumed the county’s top job.

Under the county’s style of government, five supervisors elected by district have operational control over most county operations. But many department heads, including the district attorney, sheriff and county treasurer, are separately elected.

Baldassare said that with a chief administrative officer at the helm, not only does the top administrator report to the board but also all department heads who also seek the board’s input for program and budget needs.

“And if you want to see what some of the problems are with that kind of structure, think about some of the problems during the bankruptcy,” Baldassare said. “Looking back at the fiscal trouble, one of the keys is because there was no one like a CEO in charge.”

The pitfall, however, is that Mittermeier’s bitter departure has left vague lines of authority for whoever is appointed to the new job.

“The difficulty in seeking outside talent,” Baldassare said, “is the job description as it stands today. It’s pretty vague and with that vagueness there’s a lot of risk to taking the CEO’s job.”