Local News in Brief : Countywide : Jail Initiative Signers Nearing Required Total

Sponsors of a proposed ballot initiative that would require future Orange County jails to be built in Santa Ana said Wednesday that they have almost enough signatures to qualify the measure for a 1990 countywide vote.

Rick Violett, head of Taxpayers for a Centralized Jail, said the group has about 65,000 signatures out of 66,200 required for the initiative to be placed on the ballot. He said, however, that the group plans to turn in at least 85,000 signatures in case some names are rejected by the county registrar of voters’ office.

The group has already missed two deadlines for putting its measure on the ballot this year. The petition drive followed the Board of Supervisors vote in July, 1987, to build a 6,000-bed jail in Gypsum Canyon, next to Anaheim Hills. Construction is expected to be under way by 1990. But Violett said that even if the vote does not come until then, it is important that county supervisors see that there is significant opposition to their plan.

Violett also said construction may be delayed by litigation.

“The initiative is just one of many facets that we’re pursuing,” he said. “I think the message will be sent to the supervisors on Aug. 15 that there are quite a few people who are concerned about their decision.”

Initiative proponents argue that future jails should be in Santa Ana because it is the county seat and the county’s main courthouse is located there.