Airport Backers Sue to Nullify Measure F
Pro-airport forces filed suit Friday to invalidate Measure F, which two-thirds of Orange County voters approved Tuesday.
The lawsuit, brought by the city of Newport Beach, Citizens for Jobs and the Economy and the Airport Working Group, shifts the battlefield from the ballot box to the courthouse, where both sides expect a long and costly fight.
Measure F requires approval by two-thirds of Orange County voters before any airport, landfill or jail could be built.
The sole defendant in the lawsuit is Orange County, which has spent more than $40 million on plans to convert the 4,700-acre former El Toro Marine Air Station into an international airport.
The lawsuit attempts to compel county attorneys to argue that Measure F should become law even though it could cripple plans for an airport at El Toro, which is supported by three of the five supervisors.
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