‘Neutral’ Board Will Challenge Measure F’s Spending Curbs

Even as Orange County supervisors decided Tuesday to remain neutral on Measure F, the board majority voted to challenge a key portion of the anti-airport initiative that was overwhelmingly approved by voters.

On a 3-2 vote, the pro-airport majority on the Board of Supervisors voted in closed session to ask a judge to temporarily release the county from complying with Measure F until a full court hearing can be held.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer, an airport opponent, was critical of his colleagues’ position. He said the vote means the county has effectively taken a position opposing Measure F in the face of voter approval just two weeks before.

“With a landslide [election] victory of nearly 70%, it’s disingenuous to be the defender of Measure F and then go in and say you don’t want it implemented while it’s being litigated,” Spitzer said. “The county should be subject to Measure F.”

He said the spending restrictions are needed to keep the county from paying for high-priced

lobbyists and attorneys attempting to manipulate the base reuse process in favor of an airport.

Supervisors Charles V. Smith and Jim Silva weren’t available for comment late Tuesday because they were flying to Washington on a previously scheduled trip to speak with federal officials about El Toro, as well as other county issues.

Measure F allows money spent on planning but forbids expenses for other uses such as lobbying and public relations. It also requires the county to obtain approval from two-thirds of voters before building new airport projects, large jails near homes and hazardous waste landfills.

Airport supporters have also filed a lawsuit against the county, challenging the validity of Measure F. It places the county in the unusual position of defending a measure that a majority of the supervisors oppose.

The board majority voted in closed session Tuesday to remain neutral on Measure F. The majority also voted to ask a judge to either invalidate or clarify a key section of Measure F that seeks to restrict what money can be spent to promote a new airport planned for the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

The measure’s restrictions could affect non-aviation uses at the base, including the public golf course, stables and a recreational-vehicle storage lot, said Supervisor Cynthia Coad, a member of the pro-airport majority.

“Getting a ruling on exactly what it means is the smart thing to do,” she said.

County Counsel Laurence M. Watson said the measure’s wording isn’t clear enough to determine what expenses are allowed. The need for court review is necessary, he said, because anti-airport forces have threatened to hold supervisors personally liable if they approve spending later determined to have been improper.

The attorney for the anti-airport El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, a coalition of eight South County cities that led the Measure F campaign, said the board is defying the vote by asking a judge to freeze the initiative until a final court ruling.

“The Board of Supervisors is effectively telling the voters that they want to continue spending money the way they want to,” attorney Richard Jacobs said.