TUSTIN : Air Base a Factor in Council Campaign

Planning for the eventual conversion of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station to civilian use is likely to be one of the major issues in the April 12 municipal election, during which two seats on the City Council will be at stake.

In interviews and statements filed with their nomination papers last week, the four council candidates said the helicopter base could become either an asset or a drain on city finances.

“Proper planning can produce another beneficial and self-supporting area for Tustin,” said Councilman Charles E. Puckett. He added that if the planning is mishandled, the city could be “severely impacted.”

A 17-member task force is drafting redevelopment plans for the 1,620-acre base, which is scheduled to close in 1997. The council is expected to adopt the plans in the summer. The U.S. Navy, however, will have the final say on how the base is reused.

Puckett and Councilwoman Leslie Anne Pontious, who are both seeking second terms, are being challenged by Michael J. Doyle and Tracy Worley, both running for office for the first time.

To overcome the name recognition disadvantage that challengers often face in races against incumbents, Doyle and Worley announced their candidacies six months ago, an unusually early start for municipal campaigns.

Doyle, a restaurant owner, and Worley, a homemaker, have been endorsed by Mayor Jim Potts, who said he needed the two on the council to help him open the city’s trash-hauling contract to competitive bidding and to hire an in-house attorney to cut the city’s legal expenses.

Several city residents have criticized Potts for supporting the challengers, saying the mayor simply wants “puppets” on the council.

Potts responded that Doyle and Worley are “independent-minded people. They can think for themselves,” he said.

All four candidates say that Tustin streets should be made safer and that a strong police force, using modern equipment such as video cameras and computers, is necessary to combat growing crime in residential neighborhoods.

“Public safety is a key to ensuring that Tustin continues to be an attractive community,” said Pontious.

Earlier this month, the council decided to install video cameras on the city’s 23 patrol cars in the wake of the shooting of a Manhattan Beach police officer who was making a traffic stop. The cameras will be installed next month, officials said.

Worley, a 32-year-old mother of two young children, said the city must also provide programs to steer youths from trouble.

Doyle and Worley, who have promised to share campaign expenses, including the cost of a headquarters and mailers, said they will work for term limits, limits on campaign contributions and the elimination of gifts to members of the council.

But Puckett and Pontious argue that those issues are already addressed by state law. Citing them amounts to grandstanding, they claim.

The key issue, Puckett said, is experience. His six years of service on the Planning Commission give him the expertise to help plan the conversion of the Marine base, he said. Pontious has also served on the planning panel.