TINCUP and Airport Votes

Two facts were overlooked in your recent article and editorial (Sept. 14) regarding my vote on the Commercial Airline Access Plan for John Wayne Airport (JWA) in relation to our TINCUP ordinance.

First, for 5 1/2 years my airline access votes have been consistent: I have never wavered from supporting the most rigid policy to keep JWA on the cutting edge of new quiet aircraft technology. This requires providing incentives to encourage airlines to buy the quietest airplanes available. Because of this policy, JWA is a world leader in noise reduction.

Our present plan is a good one but it could have been better, so I voted against it. I favored giving preference to quieter planes when adding or reducing flights. Those planes are flown not only by AirCal but its chief competitor, PSA, and those two airlines were to be treated equally in my proposal. Other airlines acquiring these aircraft, such as America West, also would benefit.

Second, TINCUP in my opinion is the best campaign finance ordinance in California. It ought to be implemented statewide.

But TINCUP is a very extensive and complex ordinance. When questions have arisen, we have always consulted not only the county counsel but the district attorney--and once even obtained a court ruling--to ensure my absolute compliance with TINCUP.

TINCUP is well-drafted and presently fits within court-established guidelines protecting the First Amendment rights of individuals to express opinions through donations to campaigns they support. Overly restrictive ordinances elsewhere have been overturned as unconstitutional.

I support TINCUP and will support amendments to strengthen it. But our attorneys and even TINCUP’s author have expressed concern that amendments may threaten its constitutionality and invite court challenges to overturn the ordinance.

In short, reasonable people can disagree but omitting my position on these two issues created unnecessary innuendoes and eliminated the element of fairness.

BRUCE NESTANDE

Vice-Chairman,

Orange County Board of Supervisors