Orange County Election ’86 : Fullerton : 2 Incumbents Reelected Despite Airport Issue

Opponents of jet aircraft at Fullerton’s city airport, who came up short in a bid to ban the jets via a city referendum, suffered another blow in Tuesday’s election by failing to defeat City Council incumbents who voted for the jets.

Election results, which have yet to be verified, showed incumbent Mayor A. B. (Buck) Catlin, 68, and Councilwoman Molly McClanahan, 49, winning new four-year terms.

Because the tallies for the write-in candidates were not available from the county registrar of voters, jet foe Carl R. Stevenson, 35, would not concede defeat Wednesday.

Stevenson said concerns about potential expansion of the Fullerton Municipal Airport and fears of low-flying and noisy aircraft remain an item of major concern in Fullerton. Stevenson, an engineer with Rockwell International, said he “most definitely” plans to run for office again.

McClanahan said the support for the incumbents shows residents are supportive of the council’s decisions. “They may not always agree with a position I take, but I will take the time to explain it. And if new information comes in, I’ll change it,” McClanahan said.

McClanahan said concerns about the airport were “an issue with the council” long before a heavily attended Sept. 30 meeting during which the council, in effect, voted 4 to 1 to allow jets to use the airport.

The city said changes in existing city ordinances placed further restrictions on the airport and meet guidelines set by the Federal Aviation Administration. Residents had argued that the new law would open the gate to jets using the airport--an idea they found particularly unpleasant following the airplane disaster over Cerritos which killed 82 people.