Measure A Aims to Hold Public Official Accountable

It was a long road that led to former Orange County Public Administrator John Williams' retirement in February.

But now the position is vacant, and OC voters could approve the countywide Measure A to make the office a full-time appointment rather than an elected one.

Supporters said the move will make the position more accountable, according to the "pro" statement filed with the Orange County Registrar of Voters. The Administrator is responsible for handling the assets and affairs of dead OC residents with no apparent heirs, wills or executors.

Those prominent supporters of the measure who signed the ballot statement argument in favor of the measure include OC supervisors Bill Campbell and John Moorlach, OC Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, OC Republican Party chief Scott Baugh and Reed Royalty of the OC Taxpayers Association.

It was the Board of Supervisors who, last summer, put the measure on the ballot.

No statement against the measure was filed with the Registrar of Voters.

The Grand Jury in 2009 excoriated Williams' management of the administrator office, according to the Voice of OC. The office once employed OC District Attorney Tony Rackauckas' fiancee, an issue that came up in the DA's firing of his political acolyte-cum-rival Todd Spitzer.

News agencies, including the Voice, have reported that the firing decision came after Spitzer's inquiries into the alleged dysfunction of the administrator's office, which exposed the OC government to massive liability, an outside attorney for the county said.

Finally, after legal posturing and private negotiations with supervisors, Williams officially resigned in February, leaving technocrats to man the office.

Voices against Measure A appear silent as the election approaches, but the Orange County Register's editorial board wants its readers to vote "yes" on the measure.

Patch in Orange County does not take political positions.