Hearing Set on Airport Ballot Language

A court hearing will be held today on whether March ballot materials should include a statement by opponents of an initiative designed to stop the county’s plans for a commercial airport at El Toro.

Registrar Rosalyn Lever refused to accept the ballot argument by Citizens for Jobs and the Economy, a pro-airport group, because it was delivered just past the 5 p.m. Friday deadline. The group is opposed to Measure F, which would require a two-thirds countywide vote before the county could build airport projects, large jails near homes or hazardous-waste landfills.

Pro-airport consultant David Ellis argued in court papers Monday that he arrived with the argument against Measure F before 5 p.m. but that registrar officials locked the door too soon.

Both sides consider ballot arguments important because they often are the only material read by voters before casting their ballots.

The Yes on F argument was submitted in time. It was signed by Supervisors Todd Spitzer and Tom Wilson, Assemblywoman Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel), Mission Viejo Councilwoman Susan Withrow and Orange Councilman Michael Alvarez.

The No on F argument was signed by Dist. Atty. Anthony J. Rackauckas, Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly, Huntington Beach Councilman Dave Garofalo, Judith Rosener of UC Irvine and Westminster Police Chief James Cook.