Wilson to head board again

Alicia Robinson

Orange County Supervisor Tom Wilson will continue to preside as board

chairman, his colleagues having elected him to the post Tuesday for a

second consecutive term.

Wilson represents an area that includes Newport Coast.

“I guess I’m certainly pleased that the board of supervisors have

unanimously placed enough confidence in me to lead them into some

very difficult and challenging months ahead regarding fiscal matters

that may or may not come out of the state,” Wilson said. “They regard

my past leadership as one that they were pleased to work with me on,

and I look forward to working with them.”

Sometime in the next week or so, Wilson will announce a plan to

reorganize county government to increase its efficiency and save

money. He is developing the plan with the help of Jim Ruth, a retired

Anaheim city manager who acted as interim county chief executive last

year and will continue in that position this year.

“We’re going to streamline it, make it more effective, more

efficient, more productive,” Wilson said.

“It’ll be a win for county government. It’ll be a win for the

people that we serve.”

The biggest issue for the county right now is how it will be

affected by state budget cuts that will be announced Friday, Wilson

said. The county operates on a five-year financial plan that is

adjusted annually, so officials may have to make changes to the

current plan to keep it in balance, he said.

“We’re in a reactive mode ... because a lot of our revenue depends

on the state and if it doesn’t come in we don’t deliver,” Wilson

said.

Richard Riordan will back Cristi Cristich

The latest news from the 70th assembly district race is Cristi

Cristich’s announcement that former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan

is endorsing her.

“The [former] mayor was a large supporter of Arnold Schwarzenegger

in the recall campaign, and I was the only candidate in the [70th

district] race that campaigned for Arnold as well,” Cristich said.

Riordan, now the state education secretary, supports her on the

basis of her business record and because she knows him personally,

Cristich said.

“This is the only race he’s going to be getting involved in. ...

I’m very honored because he’s very judicious with his endorsements,”

she said.

Cristich toned down her campaign during the holidays, but she’ll

be stepping it up in the coming weeks, she said.

“I expect I will be out in the district every night between now

and March 2,” she said.

Ballot measures are on the rise

Californians seem to love ballot issues.

Voters will see four of them when they go to the polls on March 2,

one has qualified for the November ballot, 25 are pending at the

attorney general’s office, and another 25 are in circulation.

The two in the primary election that will likely attract the most

attention are Proposition 57, which would allow the state to issue up

to $15 billion in bonds to cover a budget deficit estimated at about

$14 billion, and Proposition 58, which would prohibit the legislature

from approving a budget bill in which appropriations exceed projected

revenues.

While the bond measure may have some vocal opposition, voters

probably will pass it because many of them aren’t convinced that debt

is a bad thing, UC Irvine political science professor Mark Petracca

said.

“There weren’t enough conservatives in this state to make [State.

Sen.] Tom McClintock governor, so there probably aren’t enough

conservatives in this state to defeat the bond measure,” Petracca

said.

In Orange County, however, most voters will probably reject the

bond issue, he said.

The proposition that forbids deficit spending could be an easier

sell to voters because it doesn’t cost anything and Californians have

historically been supportive of anything pitched as reform, Petracca

said.

But amending the constitution, which Proposition 58 does, can be

risky, especially in a state with frequent natural disasters that

might require unexpected state spending, he said.

The other two ballot issues that will go to a vote in March are

Proposition 55, which would allow the state to fund education

facilities with $25 billion in bonds, and Proposition 56, which

permits the legislature to enact budget-related bills by a 55% vote

rather than the current two-thirds majority. It also penalizes the

governor and Legislature for not passing a budget on time and creates

a budget reserve fund.