AQMD board members move to oust agency's chairman.

In the latest sign of turmoil at the South Coast Air Quality Management District, several board members are moving to oust agency Chairman Jon Mikels and replace him with Vice Chairman William Burke of Los Angeles.

Burke, who heads Los Angeles Marathon Inc., said he wants the board to be more responsive to the needs of small business and minority communities.

"Change is always difficult, and that's something the institution has lacked," said Burke, an African American who is married to Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. "They haven't kept up with changes in the pulse of the district, its business community and ethnic communities. They set up their own standards based on their own life experiences."

The AQMD board is scheduled to vote Aug. 8 on a motion by Cody Cluff to remove Mikels as the board chairman. Cluff, president of the Entertainment Industry Development Corp. of Los Angeles, said Mikels has been "arrogant and dictatorial" in dealing with board members.

"I don't think he's capable of leading the board," Cluff said.

Cluff, however, is himself being forced off the board Aug. 11. Although nominated by Gov. Pete Wilson for the position, Cluff could not win Senate confirmation.

Despite his impending departure, Cluff said he still hopes to topple Mikels.

"I'm there for a purpose, and I'll do (whatever I think needs doing) until the last day of my job," he said.

Mikels, a San Bernardino County supervisor, said he was baffled by the move against him.

"Mr. Cluff came to the AQMD with a mission, and what that mission is and who gave it to him I don't know," he said.

Mikels seems to have come under attack in large part for his unflinching support of former AQMD Executive Director James Lents. Lents, who was ousted as the agency's top staff executive last month, had been criticized by Cluff and other board members for being too tough on small business, such as dry cleaners and auto painting shops.

Mikels said such criticism was misguided. "We've had a small business assistance program," he said. "We've had outreach programs to small business. You can argue whether our resources (for small business) have been enough, but we've been in downsizing mode."

The board ousted Lents by splitting 6-6 in June over whether or not to renew his contract. Burke was among those voting against Lents, saying the former director did little to ensure that poor and minority communities had a say in pollution control policies.

"This is not about ethnic issues, but the majority of communities of a certain economic status - i.e. poor white people, black people and Hispanic people - have traditionally been unrepresented in the policy decisions of the AQMD," Burke said.

Other board members said there was little foundation to such complaints.

In addition to a possible new chairman. AQMD board members this month will begin the process of finding a new executive director to replace Lents.

Orange County Business Journal reporter Howard Fine contributed to this story.