Airport Appears to Fly at El Toro; Charter Failing

A bitterly divisive initiative to block a commercial airport from being built at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station appeared heading for defeat Tuesday, while ballot measures to revamp Orange County government in the wake of the bankruptcy also were failing at the polls.

The apparent rejection of Measure S marks the second time in as many years that residents voiced support for developing an additional facility to John Wayne Airport. Airport supporters were elated by early returns showing the measure losing, while airport opponents reacted with a mix of disbelief and dejection.

“Oh, my gosh. I just can’t believe it,” said Linda Turner, campaign coordinator for Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, the group that placed Measure S on the ballot. “It just never occurred to me that we might actually lose.”

While the seeming failure of Measure S does not ensure an airport will be built at the base, it allows the county to go forward with a base reuse planning process that many believe gives preference to an airport.

“It’s probably the most important election the citizens of Orange County will ever vote on,” said Bruce Nestande, a former county supervisor and assemblyman who led the fight against Measure S.

“There’s going to be a second wave of economic growth in Orange County,” predicted Nestande, who contends that a new airport would bring thousands of jobs and make Orange County a gateway to the lucrative Pacific Rim markets.

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The two government reform proposals stemming from the county’s unprecedented bankruptcy were Measure T, which would enact a charter to run county government, and Measure U, under which the Board of Supervisors would be increased from five to nine members.

Backers said the charter would repair some of the structural problems with county government by imposing term limits on supervisors and changing four elected county offices, such as treasurer and auditor, into appointed posts. It was placed on the ballot in December with much fanfare from reformists but never sparked great interest among voters.

“The message being sent by the voters is that they want to run their own government,” said Patrick Quaney, a leader of the anticharter campaign. “The people don’t want to give up their right to vote.”

But Quaney said Measure T’s apparent defeat should not be viewed as a sign that the public is satisfied with the current state of county government.

“People want change in government but they want good change,” Quaney said. “This was a bad charter. It wasn’t real reform.”

Charter supporters declined to concede defeat until all the votes were counted.

The issue that by far generated the most debate in Orange County was Measure S. It aimed to overturn Measure A, which was narrowly endorsed by Orange County voters in November 1994 and proposed to develop a commercial airport when the military abandons the El Toro base as part of a nationwide base closure program.

Airport opponents who placed Measure S on the ballot took additional steps to prevent any future effort to put an airport at the 4,700-acre military base by having the measure require a commercial airport to meet rigid environmental guidelines and undergo yet another countywide election.

Measure S also would revamp the county’s base reuse planning process by disbanding a Citizens Advisory Commission appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Critics believe the commission is biased in favor of a commercial airport, although commissioners were instructed to consider both aviation and nonaviation options for the base.

But for all its talk about environmental concerns and the planning process, Measure S has been essentially a pro- and anti-airport fight.

The reincarnation of the base also divided county residents along geographic lines and left little room for compromise.

North County residents who live farthest from the base were seen as most likely to support an airport, believing it would bring jobs and stimulate the economy, according to a Times Orange County Poll. South County residents who live nearest the base were typically opposed to an airport, fearing falling home values, noise and traffic.

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Both sides of the Measure S campaign were accused of resorting to deceptive campaign tactics that preyed on voter confusion and concerns.

Opponents, for example, sent mailers warning voters that a prison housing rapists and murderers would be their newest neighbors if an airport were voted down. In fact, an airport at El Toro would not cancel requests by the county and the state to build a jail and a prison on the surplus federal land.

Supporters, meanwhile, circulated several maps of Orange County crisscrossed with flight paths that would allegedly come with a new airport. In fact, it is unknown what paths the flights could take because the county is still studying what kind of an airport El Toro would have and what kind of planes would service it.

The campaign misinformation forced Supervisor Marian Bergeson--whose district includes the base--to criticize both sides for using scare tactics to frighten voters. Bergeson also took the unusual step of criticizing Gary Proctor, the chairman of the Citizens Advisory Commission, for actively joining the No on Measure S campaign, an act that she said “compromised” the panel’s objectivity.

Bergeson opposed Measure S because she said she is against so-called “ballot box planning.”

Both sides were bolstered by big money: The retirement community of Leisure World Laguna Hills spent more than $500,000 to oppose an airport while wealthy developer George Argyros lent more than $750,000 of his own money to support an airport.

The free spending on both sides raised concerns about special-interest groups controlling the campaigns and left many voters wondering whom to trust. A Times Orange County Poll showed nearly 20% of voters were undecided just two weeks before going to the polls.

Unlike Measure S, the debates over Measures T and U generated few big-money contributions and produced a low-key campaign fought mostly at forums and on cable television programs.

The proposal would establish the board as a policy-making body and limit members to two four-year terms in office. The chief executive officer would run day-to-day county affairs and have the power to hire and fire top officials.

The most controversial element of the proposal involved the conversion of four elected county posts--treasurer-tax collector, auditor-controller, public administrator and clerk-recorder--into appointed offices.

Measure T supporters said the change would help ensure that the positions were filled with the most qualified candidates.