A Quiet End to Supervisor’s 16 Low-Key Years

After 16 years, the pictures are being packed, the plaques are coming down, and Deane Dana will retire today, ending his long tenure as a Los Angeles County supervisor.

Elected in the conservative wave that swept Ronald Reagan into the White House in 1980, Dana has been the quiet member of the powerful board, protecting his district, supporting the business-as-usual approach that is a hallmark of county government, and fiercely defending law enforcement in its never-ending battle against crime.

In an emotional farewell last week, Dana said the last of his nearly 1,150 board meetings was an occasion filled with a certain sadness and a measure of satisfaction.

“It is the kind of sadness that comes when you have dedicated 16 years of your life to coping with the cares, concerns and problems that have confronted the county during my tenure,” Dana said.

“They all change, all the time.” So, county government always will be a work in progress, responding to the newest problems and issues, Dana said.

Looking back on his four terms in office, Dana said in an interview that he is particularly proud of his efforts to privatize some county services.

He is pleased to have established one of the county’s first homeless shelters in Long Beach and with the creation of a program to provide job opportunities for foster children when they become adults.

He staunchly defended the county’s nationally renowned rehabilitation hospital, Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center in Downey, but has not stopped the county’s plans to turn it over to a private operator.

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Dana takes credit for the efforts by a trio of Republican conservatives, including himself, Mike Antonovich and Pete Schabarum, to make county department heads independent from the Civil Service system and more responsive to the supervisors.

Although Dana rarely strayed from a low-key role--of speaking slowly from prepared notes--his time in office has not been without its surprises.

He made headlines four years ago, when in the heat of a reelection challenge he did an abrupt about-face and turned against the county’s chief administrative officer, Richard Dixon. It was Dana’s swing vote that ultimately forced Dixon to resign after damaging disclosures of raised pensions, lavish perks and expensive remodeling of offices.

After being a longtime Dixon supporter, Dana portrayed himself in his last 1992 reelection contest as a reformer intent on stopping the costly errors of the past.

Dana’s support for maintenance of the county’s beaches and protection of its lifeguards was prominently mentioned when he was honored at his last meeting Tuesday.

Some of his more controversial actions were not mentioned.

His first campaign in 1980 to defeat Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, an appointee of then-Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr., was notorious for its racial overtones.

A career Pacific Bell engineer who had been active in Republican politics in the South Bay and his home turf on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Dana reminded voters in the conservative coastal district that Burke was black. He won.

Tempered by time, Burke recalled last week that “no matter how hard and vicious” that campaign became, she and Dana still maintained “a very cordial relationship.”

Dana’s pro-development stance angered many Malibu residents, who formed their own city to escape the county’s dominance. When it came time to redraw the boundaries of the 4th District, Dana was more than happy to give up Malibu for the southern crescent of the county that extends from Marina del Rey to Long Beach before heading inland to Whittier and Diamond Bar.

His desire to see a Palos Verdes Peninsula nature center built in his honor angered neighbors, but the $4.4-million project recently won approval from a Superior Court judge.

Dana, who maintained close ties to Marina del Ray developers, pushed plans for high-rise redevelopment of the harbor. As the county’s financial fortunes worsened, he saw his colleagues mortgage the marina for 15 years to pay one-time operating expenses.

In hindsight, Dana has come to criticize the financial maneuvers, including mortgaging of public property, that contributed to the county’s worst-ever fiscal crisis last year.

He blames his friend, Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, for contributing to the county’s financial woes by diverting a substantial share of property taxes to the state during the recession.

And he is sharply critical of The Times coverage of the county and its problems, believing such attention is bad for business. “L.A. County is not healthy, any way you look at it,” he said. “Economically, we’re perking up a little bit. But we need everyone working together as a team.”

Dana can count as one of his prime achievements the fact that his hand-picked successor, longtime chief of staff Don Knabe, easily captured the supervisor’s seat in last month’s election.

When Knabe takes the oath of office today, the 70-year-old Dana will turn his attention to spending more time with his wife, Doris, and his family.

But he promises to follow county business. “I’m going to keep an eye on the place,” he said.

His fellow supervisors, led by Antonovich, paid tribute to their retiring colleague for serving with “honor and distinction.”

Supervisor Gloria Molina praised Dana for his efforts to protect the county’s beaches.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky simply complimented Dana as “a just plain decent individual, which in politics is sometimes a rarity.”

After 16 years, what will be Dana’s legacy?

“Everyone leaves a legacy,” Antonovich said. “That’s for history to judge.”