Spitzer’s Early Out Can Speak for Itself

I figured Todd Spitzer would want to purge himself, to confess his sin. He is, after all, the young pol who burst onto the Orange County scene six years ago demanding accountability in government.

He found in me a willing admirer -- and not just because Spitzer made Mickey Conroy mad enough to give him the finger during their 1996 contest for the 3rd District supervisor’s seat. No, what I liked was Spitzer’s brashness and his embrace of an age-old journalistic tenet: Never be afraid to ask what might be a stupid question. Given that he was joining a sedate board that slept through the county’s buildup to bankruptcy in 1994, Spitzer was a human alarm clock.

Just 36, Spitzer began his first term in January 1997 and didn’t disappoint. What other supervisors were ready to rubber-stamp, he’d delay a vote on. Where others saw sacred cows, he saw targets.

Cocky and self-congratulatory, critics said. True, but ... those are only major drawbacks if you’re stupid, too. Spitzer wasn’t.

Fifteen months into his first term, he aired his frustrations while flashing his characteristic Toddness: “I knew there would be an opportunity at some point in life,” he told me, “where there would be a void and gap in leadership and somebody, like me, with my fortitude, would need to step forward and be held accountable.”

That’s all I wanted -- an explanation for his recent sudden resignation from the Board of Supervisors, a move that apparently was timed to keep Tom Coad from running for his seat.

Coad is the husband of outgoing Supervisor Cynthia Coad. The Coads pushed for an airport at El Toro and, as a result, often quarreled with Spitzer.

It’s also known that the county Republican establishment favors Bill Campbell to succeed Spitzer. The theory is that Spitzer helped out the establishment by resigning earlier than expected to keep Coad -- who hasn’t yet moved into the 3rd District -- from establishing residency in time to run.

That’s how it played out. Spitzer is out, and so is Tom Coad.

The county will survive without a Coad on the board, and the loss is even more palatable when considering Coad’s plan to run in a district where he has never lived. But that’s the kind of thing that should be taken into account by voters, not outgoing supervisors.

Who knows if Spitzer dreamed up the early resignation on his own. County GOP executive director Kathy Tavoularis says she knew nothing about it until she read about it in the paper. “We couldn’t get involved in a nonpartisan race,” she says.

Oh.

That’s why I needed Spitzer, the man who always calls back, the man who’s accountable. Except that after about a week, reporters who cover the supervisors gave up trying to reach him. His only public comment on the day he quit was that preparing for the Assembly was eating up his time and that it would be selfish to continue on the board.

Ah.

I wanted to hear Spitzer disavow with a straight face any tricksterism. Spitzer aide Jeff Solsby took my call Wednesday and said he’d leave my message with Spitzer. A couple hours later, amid the sounds of silence on my phone, I asked Solsby for Spitzer’s cell phone number, and Solsby said, “I have the number and I left the message.”

I don’t need a building to fall on me.

I’m still glad Todd Spitzer breezed through county government.

He left Tom Coad holding the bag. Conduct unbecoming, but you have to admit it was a pretty good stunt.

My suggestion for Coad: Go have a couple drinks with Mickey Conroy.

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to [email protected].