Mission Viejo's Former Mayor Rejected From Pension Board Appointment

SANTA ANA, CA — Former Mission Viejo Mayor Frank Ury's appointment to the Orange County Employees Retirement System board was rejected Tuesday by Orange County supervisors who voted 3-2, opposed.

Supervisors Shawn Nelson, Andrew Do and Michelle Steel voted no.

Ury told City News Service in an emailed statement he offered to meet with each of the supervisors who voted to reject his appointment, "yet none ever voiced even the slightest concern about my nomination over the past two months."

"The OCERS board very much needs a representative with recent city council and local agency experience, since so many of the employees in the OCERS program are contract employees with local cities and agencies," Ury said.

Supervisor Lisa Bartlett moved to appoint Ury.

"He has a very consistent track record regarding reining in government spending," Bartlett said.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer noted that Ury's appointment, which was first proposed last month, was postponed until Tuesday, but he didn't understand the opposition.

"At the last meeting I asked what the issue was (with Ury) and I've gotten no answer," Spitzer said. "I was supportive and I haven't heard any objections -- at least articulated by this board. Maybe it's uncomfortable because he had been an elected official and it's sensitive."

Ury was on the Mission Viejo City Council for 11 years and served on the Orange County Transportation Authority board from 2014-16.

"My work on public sector pension reform and restructuring go back over a decade in Mission Viejo, and my background in finance and financial management are beyond reproach," Ury said.

"I led the city to a AAA bond rating for over a decade, and we are often called out as visionary by the rating agencies for our pension work over a decade ago."

City of Mission Viejo Photo, City News Service contributed to this report.