HUNTINGTON BEACH : Supporters of Rival Measures Trade Jabs

The contest between advocates of rival park and beach land ballot measures intensified Friday as each side accused the other of deliberately misleading voters.

The leading proponent of a City Council-sponsored measure charged opponents with using campaign tactics that have “torn apart the community” to preserve “their own interests” rather than beaches and parks.

And supporters of a rival citizens’ initiative contended that their opponents are disguising themselves as youth sports advocates while serving developers’ interests.

The citizens’ initiative, Measure C, is a proposed City Charter amendment that would forbid the city from selling or leasing any park or beach land without voter approval. Measure D, which a council majority placed on the ballot as part of a strategy to defeat the citizens’ initiative, would allow the leasing of beaches and parkland.

Tom Duchene, chairman of the Yes-on-Measure D campaign, accused his rivals of launching “personal attacks” against him in a cable TV program aired on the city’s government-access channel.

“They’re coming at us like we’re these back-room, pro-development manipulators, and that’s just not the case,” Duchene said. “There’s no reason our community has to be torn apart like that . . . but the Measure C people seem intent upon doing that.”

Supporters of the citizens’ initiative, however, said the mailing address of the Yes-on-Measure D campaign is the same as that of the Huntington Beach Taxpayers Committee, a political action committee that traditionally has been heavily funded by the Huntington Beach Co., the city’s largest and most influential landowner.

Duchene, though, said the city’s business community supports Measure D “because they see that we’re trying to protect the kids.”

Measure D proponents charge that the citizens’ initiative, if approved, would block many community-service projects, including some planned youth-organization facilities.

Duchene has claimed that Measure C would threaten the construction of the Huntington Valley Boys & Girls Club and the Huntington Youth Shelter, and also expansion of the Rodgers Senior Citizens Center, among other developments.

Measure C backers, however, have countered with a legal opinion issued last month by City Atty. Gail C. Hutton. In that opinion, Hutton stated that the initiative would not conflict with the planned expansion of the senior citizens center because the city is bound to the project under a contract that overrides any City Charter provision.