El Toro Airport Petitions Face Legal Battle

A representative of a group that favors building a commercial airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station contended Thursday that petitions circulated by an anti-airport group may be invalid.

The petitions were circulated by the Taxpayers for Responsible Planning to place on the March ballot a measure that could block plans to build a civilian airport at the base.

But an attorney representing James Righeimer of Fountain Valley, who supports the airport plans, said no one checked to see if the people who circulated the petitions are registered voters in Orange County, which he contends is required by state law.

Attorney Darryl R. Wold said he will seek a court order Monday preventing the certification of the petitions until a judge can review them. Without the certification next week, the controversial measure might not qualify in time for a vote in March.

“The registrar of voters routinely does not check the registration of the circulators of petitions,” Wold said. “We believe the registrar is required to do so, and we would like the court to change their policy on that.”

County Registrar of Voters Rosalyn Lever could not be reached for comment, but representatives of the anti-airport group called the court challenge an attempt to delay another vote on the proposal. The group is facing a tight deadline and any delay could prove crucial, said Bert Hack of Leisure World, one of the group’s organizers.

“All this is is a tactic to avoid putting an initiative on the ballot,” Hack said. “They’re trying to stall us . . . and knock us back to a November ballot.”

The registrar determined this week that the petitions contained enough signatures to qualify a ballot measure, although only by a slim margin.

The measure calls for the repeal of Measure A, a voter-approved initiative that mandates the development of a civilian airport when the military closes the El Toro base in 1999.

The final tally showed 76,457 signatures, only 143 over the required number.

On Tuesday, the day after the court hearing, the Orange County Board of Supervisors will be asked to authorize placing the issue on the ballot in March.