Orange County chief executive Frank Kim, who officially stepped down from his post Thursday amid tributes from colleagues, spent his last days on the job typically worrying about all the loose ends that he still needed to tie up.
“I’ve always worked,” Kim said, recalling how his family emigrated from South Korea to Philadelphia when he was 4. From there, the Kims moved to Koreatown, he said.
His mother had less than $1,000 to her name at the time.
“We were poor,” Kim told City News Service. “So ever since I could, I’ve worked. Since I was 15 I worked part-time jobs ... You want your own agency. I worked because I wanted to buy things.”
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Kim first announced his pending retirement in November via a letter to the county Board of Supervisors, which then launched a search for new CEO. He has served in the role for nine years.
Kim said he has fielded many calls from friends and supporters offering him opportunities, but he said he is in no hurry to decide what to do with the rest of his life.
“I want to be thoughtful about it. And I don’t have the space right now to do that ... I don’t feel calm yet. I don’t want to make a decision on my future until I’m calm and thoughtful. But I am happy to move on,” he said.
Former Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach often used the word “calm” to describe Kim as he reminisced about the longest-tenured chief executive in the county’s history.
“He didn’t have all the drama [former county CEO] Tom Mauk had,” Moorlach told CNS.
“It was a good, calming influence,” Moorlach said of Kim’s stints as budget director and then CEO. “He didn’t have that drama. He’s just a professional.”
Former Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett also praised Kim’s tenure.
“I very much enjoyed working with Frank Kim in his capacity as the Orange County CEO,” Bartlett said. “Frank’s experience working in a multitude of county departments before taking on the CEO role enabled him to really help guide the Board of Supervisors in key decision-making over the years. His leadership, ability to think and react quickly and positive demeanor will definitely leave big shoes to fill. Frank’s significant impact through his many years at the county presents a rich legacy and I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with him.”
The county’s chief financial officer, Michelle Aguirre, will fill in while Board of Supervisors continues looking for Kim’s permanent replacement.
Kim said the two were hired about the same time and grew up in the county together professionally.
Emerging from the infamous county bankruptcy in the 1990s, Kim said he sought to bolster the county’s reserves when he was the county’s CFO.
“We were both children of the bankruptcy,” Kim said of his working relationship with Aguirre. “So we were always conservative. I felt we were very responsible.”
Kim said there were times Orange County had to borrow money from other departments to make payroll and other necessary expenses.
“That’s not the best way to run a county,” he said. “So we focused with the board in setting milestones. Benchmarks.”
Moorlach said one of Kim’s greatest accomplishments was helping steer the county through the Great Recession of 2008-09.
“He and I met every Monday,” Moorlach said.
Kim said he was grateful for the federal government bailout money that helped the county muddle through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If we didn’t get the COVID relief we’d be in a world of hurt,” Kim said. “Those funds were urgently needed.”
Kim said the county’s frugal culture is strong and will carry on without him. He was also confident that public erosion of trust in government would not worsen.
“I think people believe in the work we do,” he said. “They just don’t know we’re doing it.”
Kim has also been credited for his leadership on the homelessness crisis, working with homeless advocates and U.S. District Judge David Carter.
The county built homeless shelters and ensured that encampments were cleared out while a new system of care was put in place to get at the roots of homelessness.
What’s next for Kim?
Kim said he planned to take six months off before deciding what’s next. He wants to spend more time with his wife and aging parents to better care for them. Eventually he would like to do more volunteer work to keep serving the public.
He signed up for a half-marathon and bought some running shoes as part of his goal to improve his health. He was so worried about tying up loose ends, he said, “I think it will take two more weeks to relax.”
He has a stack of books gifted to him from friends that he can’t wait to tackle, and he said scuba diving is another passion. But he’ll have to wait for his friends, who are still working, to go on vacation to join him for that.
Kim spent his final days on the job visiting all the departments he oversaw.
“To me that’s more meaningful than charging everyone 50 bucks for a party,” he said. “I’ve been to all of those parties. It’s great for those who like that but I don’t want that.”
