Airport Chief Named Interim CEO : Bankruptcy: Jan Mittermeier, a 21-year county employee, will fill the void left by William J. Popejoy’s resignation.

SANTA ANA — Orange County supervisors on Friday appointed Airport Director Jan Mittermeier to become the county’s next interim chief executive officer, filling an embarrassing leadership void created this week when their head-strong top executive resigned rather than cede any of his power.

Mittermeier, a 21-year county employee known for her direct but low-key management style at John Wayne Airport, is seen as a sharp contrast to outgoing CEO William J. Popejoy, a millionaire businessman who occasionally made headlines with public attacks on some of the supervisors.

“It’s a good choice,” Supervisor William G. Steiner said after the board voted unanimously in closed session to give her the job. “Her appointment should have a settling influence on a county work force that has been reeling recently.”

Supervisors said they moved quickly to appoint Mittermeier so the county’s efforts to resolve its bankruptcy woes can continue without interruption. Her appointment was widely greeted as a solid and non-controversial choice.

“She is a first-class administrator and would serve well the interests of the county,” said attorney William Mitchell, a spokesman in the county for the political watchdog group Common Cause.

Stan Oftelie, the chief executive of the county’s transportation agency, added: “She has an extremely professional bloodline in the county. She’s always on top of her game.”

She is not without detractors, however.

“She’s the kind of person that’s respected by everybody and liked by nobody,” said one high-ranking county official, who declined to be quoted by name.

The board’s action follows the sudden announcement by Popejoy this week that he is leaving the county July 31--four months before his contract expires.

In announcing his resignation, Popejoy publicly lashed out at the board, saying they were seeking to re-involve themselves in day-to-day operational decisions and thus interfered with his ability to do his job.

Popejoy could not be reached for comment Friday.

Earlier this week, Popejoy said Mittermeier “would be an excellent choice” to replace him. But he also said he did not believe the board would give her the authority she needs to carry out her job properly.

Before agreeing to accept the position, Mittermeier said she raised that issue with the supervisors. “I wanted to know what authority this position would have,” she said. “They told me that it would be very similar to Mr. Popejoy’s authority.”

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Mittermeier will take over from Popejoy Aug. 1, but may start sooner if she and Popejoy can arrive at a “mutually agreed upon” date. Some county officials suggested that supervisors may try to force Popejoy out the door before his announced July 31 departure date because he continues to publicly criticize their leadership abilities.

Mittermeier will serve as interim CEO until a permanent replacement for Popejoy is hired, supervisors said--sometime this summer, they hope. Unlike Popejoy, who agreed to do the job for free, Mittermeier will receive a significant pay raise for doing the job, with her current salary of $99,000 being boosted to $130,000 or more, supervisors said.

“It’s a big job. It’s a tough job. But, as a longtime county employee, if this is what the board wants me to do, then I’ll step in there and do what I have to do,” said Mittermeier, who spoke with reporters shortly after the board’s announcement.

“I think anybody would be a fool not to be apprehensive about a job like this,” she added.

Other candidates the board considered included: Sheriff Brad Gates, former Garden Grove Supt. Ed Dundon, Health Care Director Tom Uram, Oklahoma Treasurer Thomas E. Daxon and lawyer Hugh Hewitt.

Mittermeier joined the county in 1974, working in the auditor-controller’s office before joining the airport as assistant director in 1987. Three years later, she was chosen to head the airport.

After making their selection, supervisors said Mittermeier--who controls a $35-million budget at John Wayne Airport--will focus primarily on pulling together the final county budget for the fiscal year that began two weeks ago.

In the wake of Measure R’s defeat at the polls late last month, new and deeper cuts must be made. The county’s bankruptcy recovery plans will still be guided by the county’s team of high-priced attorneys and financial consultants.

“We need the interim person to be more focused on the budget process and moving forward with county operations,” Steiner said.

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Supervisor Marian Bergeson said Mittermeier has the talents to manage the county’s budget problems.

“I’m impressed with her strong organizational skills,” Bergeson said. “She’s very smart and understands the budget process.”

Mittermeier said she wasn’t stepping into the job with any preconceived ideas about how to extricate the county from the nation’s worst-ever municipal bankruptcy.

“First, I have to see what’s already been considered,” she said.

In the past, however, she has been openly pessimistic about one recovery option that some supervisors are serious about pursuing: the sale of John Wayne Airport.

On Friday, she said she still doesn’t think such a development is possible, but added that she is willing to listen to any legitimate proposals.

“I’ve always been willing to consider any proposal from anyone who knows how to do this legally,” Mittermeier said. “I don’t think [the board and I] are at loggerheads here.”

Mittermeier said she hopes her experience in county government will help her avoid the clashes with the board that Popejoy experienced.

“I think Bill was used to working in an atmosphere where he was . . . working with a board of directors. We’re working with an elected board, responsible to their constituencies, and there is a real difference there,” Mittermeier said.

“My style will be making sure they know what they need to know, before the press knows it or anyone else knows it,” said Mittermeier, who has also applied to become the permanent CEO. “That doesn’t mean that we’re not going to have serious disagreements at times about how things are done. I’m sure that we will.”

Disagreements marked Popejoy’s stint in the job. Board members frequently complained that he didn’t brief them on key elements of the bankruptcy recovery, criticized them too freely in public, and refused to look for recovery plans that didn’t hinge on a sales-tax increase, which voters soundly rejected last month.

Popejoy, meanwhile, has accused supervisors of playing politics, being more concerned about their political careers and jobs than the county’s recovery.

Despite his resignation, Popejoy has volunteered to stay on with the county to help negotiate a settlement in the county’s $2-billion lawsuit against Merrill Lynch & Co. But because of his outspoken criticism of the board--especially Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez, and Supervisors Roger R. Stanton and Jim Silva--it is unlikely he will be taken up on his offer.

In other business Friday, the Audit Oversight Committee decided to seek board approval for a $450,000 study aimed at improving Orange County’s management structure. The study has been criticized by some as being too costly for a bankrupt county, while others believe it would provide a better focus on cost efficiencies to be achieved within county government.

Bergeson, who sits on the committee, said she believes the study is critical to restructuring county government. The supervisor said she also hopes to keep costs down by asking private entities to share the cost.

Times staff writer Rene Lynch contributed to this report.

* MERRILL LYNCH SUIT: County suffers a small setback in Bankruptcy Court. A28

* NO-NONSENSE APPROACH: Jan Mittermeier has risen steadily through the ranks. A30

* SLOW START TO SEARCH: The hunt for a permanent CEO seems barely underway. A32