113,000 Signatures Back El Toro Airport Vote : Base reuse: Supporters of commercial facility say voters should decide issue in November. They cite potential for jobs.

Promising that it would lead to thousands of jobs, supporters of a proposed initiative to require converting the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to a commercial airport filed a 113,000-signature petition Wednesday to put the measure on the November ballot.

Backers of the initiative needed to collect 66,703 valid signatures of registered voters by Wednesday to qualify the proposal--called the Orange County/El Toro Economic Stimulus Initiative--for the general election ballot.

If approved by voters, the proposal would change the county’s land-use plan to allow the development of a commercial airport at El Toro on 2,000 acres of the 4,700-acre base and require the building of the airport.

The measure is sponsored by a coalition of business and political leaders who are relying on the jobs issue to carry the day. The group calls itself Committee for 21,000 New Jobs and contends that a new airport would create 21,645 new jobs in Orange County and generate $170 million annually for local governments.

On Wednesday, Newport Beach businessman George L. Argyros and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), two high-profile initiative supporters, said they are siding with blue-collar workers in their backing of the initiative.

“Are we going to stand up for the working people of this county?” Rohrabacher said.

Argyros, who made millions as a developer, said a commercial airport at El Toro that could also handle cargo “will create a job machine that will last 100 years.”

At the same time that Argyros and his group were pushing boxes of signed petitions into the County Registrar of Voters office, another group of business leaders and elected officials were holding their own news conference across town to announce opposition to the initiative.

Members of the group stressed that they do not oppose the idea of building a commercial airport at El Toro. Rather, they said it would be unwise to decide the base’s future at the ballot box rather than through an orderly and complete planning process, which the county is currently doing.

In addition to mandating building of the airport, the proposed ballot measure would set up a 13-member advisory commission made up of elected officials, aviation experts, private citizens and representatives from labor and business groups to advise the Board of Supervisors on building the airport and developing the rest of the base.

Sponsors of the initiative said they do not trust the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority--the county agency sanctioned to study redevelopment options for the base--to make an unbiased decision on whether to convert the Marine base to a commercial airport.

The nine-member county board includes four representatives from Irvine and Lake Forest, where opposition to the proposed airport is strong. Rohrabacher labeled opponents of the initiative “a vocal minority watching out for their own interests.”

Supporters expressed confidence that the measure will qualify for the ballot and brushed aside a recent Times Orange County Poll that showed almost 60% of local voters opposed the initiative. However, they acknowledged that, so far, voters are not swayed by promises that a new airport would lead to more jobs.

“It’s vital that we talk directly to the voters and let them know what the issues are,” Rohrabacher said.

Initiative backers argued Wednesday that the measure is necessary because all county residents deserve a voice in the decision about El Toro’s future. Presently, the base’s future is being discussed only in concert with issues that affect surrounding cities like Irvine and Lake Forest, they said.

“Is this really a local issue or a regional issue?” said Argyros. “We need to let all voters of Orange County participate in this debate.”

But initiative opponents, including Laguna Hills businessman Bill Kogerman and Mission Viejo Mayor Susan Withrow, said they supported the county planning authority’s plan to study various reuse proposals in conjunction with local municipalities and business groups before making a final decision.

“The proposed initiative is bad government,” said Kogerman, co-chair of the group, which billed itself as “grass roots.” “The whole idea of land planning through an initiative is totally inappropriate.”

Others at Wednesday’s news conference held by opponents echoed that view, including Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, who helped develop the county-sponsored planning authority for El Toro.

“I think the (county) organization’s goal is to come up with the best land use,” Riley said. “We want to do the best planning job.”

Group members noted that the county process calls for open public meetings and that a final reuse decision would be made by a panel of elected officials.