Initiative May Ignite Hot Fight for El Toro : Marine base: Airport ballot measure signals the start of a political skirmish that promises to break up traditional allies.

Setting the stage for perhaps one of the hottest political battles in Orange County’s recent history, some influential business leaders Tuesday filed a proposed ballot measure to let voters decide whether a commercial airport should be developed at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Filing the Orange County/El Toro Economic Stimulus Initiative--signed by Newport Beach businessman George L. Argyros and Marion Knott, a partner of Knott’s Berry Farm--unofficially begins the campaign to collect at least 66,703 signatures before June 1 to place the measure on the Nov. 8 ballot.

“El Toro is a regional asset that has the potential to become a ‘job machine’ if it is properly converted” to civilian use once the base is closed under military cutbacks, Argyros said in a statement Tuesday.

But the filing also signals the start of a political battle that is not within the traditional rivalries. It does not pit Democrats against Republicans, nor moderates against conservatives, but instead breaks up usual political allies who now sharply disagree on the airport issue.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas F. Riley, whose district includes the base and who chairs the county-sanctioned El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, said he feels “personally saddened” that the influential business leaders, whom he knows, proceeded with the initiative “and not one of them has talked to me.”

The issue’s divisiveness is illustrated by the rancor within the politically powerful Lincoln Club, which was at first publicly perceived as the driving force behind the initiative.

But while club leaders were speaking for the ballot measure, other members--particularly some living in south Orange County communities near the base--grumbled that they were being railroaded.

Club leaders were admonished during a weekend board of directors meeting for working on the ballot initiative without approval by the conservative club’s general membership or the board.

The result is some Lincoln Club directors will be involved and provide financial backing for the signature-gathering drive, but the club itself will officially remain neutral until the initiative is reviewed by members.

Lincoln Club President Doy Henley was unavailable for comment Tuesday. But last week, as organizers finalized plans to file the initiative, Henley said he supported the commercial airport proposal but would not be involved in the campaign because it is not sanctioned by the club’s membership.

“There are members of the Lincoln Club that are going to be involved . . . some of our members will be up to their eyeballs in this, and there will be some of our members maybe on the other side,” Henley said. “As president of the club, I am going to do my job, which is to keep them all in the club.”

And the dispute goes beyond the confines of the political organization. Business and industry groups, which are participating in the county planning process for the base, are assessing the political consequences of the initiative.

Also, city leaders in north Orange County, who generally favor an airport, are expected to square off against South County officials who fear a commercial airport will ruin their quality of life.

“The battle lines have clearly been drawn between those who advocate a rational, analytical approach and those who have predetermined El Toro’s use and who are interested in furthering their financial gains,” said Laguna Hills Councilwoman Melody Carruth.

Carruth conceded there is no evidence that the business leaders involved in the initiative will personally gain from development at the site.

The campaign for the ballot measure will be funded through a group called Committee for 21,000 New Jobs, a reference to the expansion in the local economy that petition organizers believe will occur if a passenger and cargo airport is built at El Toro.

The proposed initiative asks voters to approve an amendment to the county’s General Plan that would require a civilian airport on about 2,000 acres of the 4,700-acre base, and seeks interim use of the runways by air cargo carriers while the Marine Corps phases out its mission by 1999.

The measure also proposes replacing the county’s El Toro planning agency with a 13-member advisory commission that would make redevelopment recommendations to the county supervisors, who would then have final decision-making authority over the remaining land not used for an airport.

If the ballot measure is approved, it cannot be changed unless another public vote is held. But the sponsors acknowledge that the development of an airport is a complex process and are offering some flexibility, allowing the measure to be amended if a federal or state agency denies airport use, or under other specific conditions.

The 21-page proposal contains the arguments the airport proponents are expected to use during the campaign, including:

- An airport at El Toro would create 21,000 “high paying new jobs” and increase business revenue in Orange County by about $1.7 billion a year.

- An estimated 375,000 tons of air cargo business is lost every year to Los Angeles International Airport and Ontario International Airport because the county’s facility, John Wayne Airport, cannot accommodate the air cargo industry. Also, about 4 million passengers go to other airports each year because John Wayne is legally limited, because of size and as part of a federal court settlement, to 8.4 million passengers.

- El Toro’s existing runways can be made available in times of national emergency or for natural disaster preparedness.

“Orange County has lost more than 122,000 jobs since 1990. Our construction industry is flat, real estate is depressed, our aerospace industry is suffering from severe defense-related cutbacks,” according to Argyros’ statement. “To turn this trend around and provide a strong economy for future generations, we must seize upon the opportunity that El Toro presents.”

But Riley responded that the county also is looking to create new jobs. “Do they think that what we are going to do won’t do that?” Riley said.

County supervisors rejected the idea of an initiative last week, arguing it would be premature to hold an election before an El Toro planning agency has time to study the redevelopment options for the base. The agency consists of the supervisors, three Irvine council members and a Lake Forest council member.

Carruth agreed with Riley. “Do they think it’s the intention of the (planning agency) to establish a 4,700-acre park?”

In a recent letter to the head of the Lincoln Club, Assemblyman Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside) also argued against the airport campaign.

Morrow said “it would be disheartening to see so much effort and so many dollars diverted” away from the club’s traditional goal of electing a Republican majority to the state Legislature.