Sales Tax Ballot Statements Offer Stark Contrast : Election: Measure R backers warn of teacher layoffs and devastation of services if it is rejected; opponents say an increase would drive the county back into recession.

Statements selected Tuesday to appear in the election pamphlet for Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase on the June ballot, paint starkly different pictures of the county’s future.

The statement in support of Measure R, signed by Sheriff Brad Gates and county Chief Executive Officer William J. Popejoy, predicts that more than 2,000 teachers could lose their jobs and that roads, jails and hospitals would go unbuilt if the measure is not approved.

But Measure R opponents argue in their statement that the tax increase would weaken the local economy, “driving employers away, costing thousands of taxpayer jobs and driving us back into recession.”

Voters will receive both 300-word arguments in mid-May in their election pamphlets. The election will be held June 27.

The selection of the ballot arguments came the same day as the Board of Supervisors approved without comment the recommended ballot language for Measure R.

The statement by Gates and Popejoy was the only pro-Measure R argument submitted to the registrar of voters office by Monday’s deadline. It was also signed by Connie Haddad, president of the League of Women Voters of Orange County, and D.A. (Del) Weber, president of the California Teachers Assn.

The registrar’s office received three anti-Measure R statements. On Tuesday, officials selected the one submitted by the Committees of Correspondence, a vocal anti-tax group, to appear in the election pamphlet.

The statement was signed by Costa Mesa Councilwoman Sandra L. Genis, Saddleback Community College District Trustee Teddi Lorch, Committees spokesman Bruce Whitaker, H.A. (Hal) Fischer, past president of the Orange County Chiefs and Sheriff’s Assn., and Thomas C. Rogers, former chairman of the Republican Central Committee of Orange County.

The anti-Measure R statement warns voters that “your tax dollars would go to the same arrogant bunglers who gambled Orange County into bankruptcy.” It also encourages voters to “force (the Board of Supervisors) to reduce expenses by defeating this tax.”

The pro-Measure R statement blames former Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron “and his Wall Street accomplices” for the financial crisis, adding that “voters now have two choices. Vote YES on Measure R and climb out of the hole, or vote NO and get buried in it.”

With about two months left before the election, both sides are beginning to gear up for the campaign.

The Committees of Correspondence recently formed a subcommittee called the War Council to organize the group’s fight against Measure R. Group leaders said they’ve begun seeking donations but stressed that they are planning a grass-roots campaign run by volunteers.

Gates, who is leading a pro-Measure R group called Citizens for Economic Progress, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But another pro-Measure R group, Law Enforcement/Teachers to Save Orange County Committee, is already moving forward with its campaign.

John Brimmage, group co-chair and president of the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, said the committee has raised about $20,000, mostly from local professional associations.

The committee hasn’t finalized its campaign plans yet, but Brimmage said it will probably involve mailers and yard signs.

“The public hasn’t gotten a real grasp of how deep a financial hole this is,” he said. “As a grass-roots movement, we might be able to educate the public from our perspective.”

The Orange County Employees Assn., which has been fighting the layoffs of county workers, has come out in support of Measure R. But Linda Pierpoint, staff manager for the OCEA, said the association hasn’t made any campaign contributions and has yet to decide exactly what role it will play in the campaign.