Countywide : Suit Filed Against Airport Opponents

Opponents of establishing a commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station violated campaign contribution laws by failing to fully disclose their funding source, according to a lawsuit filed by a pro-airport consultant.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court, is an indication of the heated debate over the fate of the air base.

The legal action comes before voters go to the polls March 26 to decide Measure S, a ballot initiative that would effectively kill plans for an airport at the 4,700-acre base, which the military will abandon in 1999.

The suit contends that Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, which is leading the fight against an airport, failed to reveal in its campaign finance statements that the vast majority of its funding comes from Leisure World Laguna Hills, a retirement community where many residents oppose an airport.

Leisure World residents gave TRP more than $450,000, representing the majority of the group’s campaign funds. Campaign finance laws require groups to prominently disclose controlling funding sources.

Now TRP, which frequently blasts the opposition for its “special interest” support, finds itself facing similar charges.

“The county voters have a right to know that a very well financed special interest is trying to kill the opposition to developing a job-creating airport at El Toro,” said David Ellis, a consultant to airport supporters.

Bill Kogerman, co-chairman of TRP, said Wednesday that he had not seen the latest lawsuit and could not comment on it.