Lockheed Martin Corp. led a team of four companies that won a $250 million contract to manage the Orange County government’s data processing center and its telecommunications system. “It’s the largest contract that the county has ever awarded,” said Randy Smith, a lobbyist who led Lockheed Martin’s effort to win the contract. The effort to win the contract was hotly contested by six initial teams of entrants. Some entrants spent as much as $1 million each to win the contract. Each entrant hired well-known local lobbyists, such as former Supervisor William Steiner for San Diego-based Science Applications International Corp., Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly for Santa Ana-based Software Maintenance Systems, and Scott Hart for Little Rock, Ark.-based Acxiom Corp.
The finalists were SAIC and incumbent Lockheed. Smith said the county staff rated Lockheed as the least expensive bid and thus gave it its highest ranking. Continuity also worked in Lockheed’s favor, he said. Under terms of the 11-year contract, Lockheed will manage the county’s computer system, which has 16,000 users. The telecommunications contract, which includes key communications in the Sheriff’s Department, was held by GTE Customer Networks, now part of Verizon Communications, which lost out by being on a different proposal team. Now this contract will be performed by Pacific Bell, which has a similar telecommunications contract with San Diego County. Other participants on the winning Lockheed team were system applications providers GCAP and ARK, both of which now provide services to the county’s centers. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the contract award last week. n
