O.C. pension dispute spotlights man wearing two hats

It was a logical comment for Royalty, an advocate of low taxes and limited government who is president of the Orange County Taxpayers Assn.

But it was a disquieting remark, many thought, for a man who is also chairman of the agency that manages those pension benefits -- an agency now being sued by the county in an effort to roll them back. The lawsuit was initiated by Nguyen and her colleagues, who contend that the higher pension benefits for deputies are unconstitutional.

Royalty's dual roles, as an anti-tax champion on one hand and an administrator of pension benefits for retired government workers on the other, has put him in a seemingly incompatible position, pitting his private views that public employee pensions have run amok against his legal duty to look out for the financial interests of retirement system members.

It is a fine line that he said he had tried to tread carefully. He said he sought legal opinions from multiple lawyers who assured him he had a 1st Amendment right to continue criticizing public pensions as long as he clearly identifies that he is speaking as a private tax activist. He said he saw no conflict between his public and private roles, and declined to comment on any questions about the county's pending litigation against the Orange County Employee Retirement System.

"I'm doing a good job for the taxpayers, and I'm not doing anything to the detriment of OCERS," he said. The distinction is lost on union leaders whose members are in the pension system. They resent the county's efforts to reduce benefits and fear that, with Royalty leading the way, the retirement board will not defend the case vigorously.

"I was very disappointed to see that the chairman of OCERS, the man entrusted to protect our pensions, has decided to abandon his official fiduciary duty in pursuit of politics," said Wayne Quint, president of the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs. "His public congratulation of Supervisor Nguyen for suing the very organization he chairs is both shocking and bizarre."