Political Hardball Season Is Over

Unlike the razor-thin results in the presidential race across the nation, Orange County voters were fairly decisive Tuesday. They sent a strong message to county supervisors about supporting health care funding, rejected growth-control initiatives in two of the three cities that offered them and, true to historic political form, supported Republican George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore.

The approval of Measure H will require supervisors to allocate 80% of the estimated $30 million in tobacco settlement funds the county will receive each year for the next 25 years or so to health care needs. The measure’s victory is not just a defeat for the opposing Measure G, but it also serves as a second notice to the Board of Supervisors majority that it is out of step with the wishes and priorities of the residents they were elected to represent. Earlier this year, voters resoundingly passed a ballot measure intended to block the board’s push for a new airport at the closed El Toro Marine base.

The approach to ballot-box planning received mixed support. In Brea and San Clemente, residents wisely rejected initiatives that virtually would have halted construction of housing critically needed to reduce the county’s imbalance between jobs and affordable housing.

Many no doubt were swayed by the realization that disrupting the complex planning process is bad for local government. The shortage of affordable housing adds to traffic congestion, raises the cost of buying or renting homes and affects the county’s economic health by eroding its labor pool and possibly forcing businesses to relocate.

Newport Beach residents, in a reaction to traffic congestion and an obvious lack of confidence in the city officials they elected, did approve an initiative that will require a citywide vote on major land development projects. It will be important for residents facing complex planning issues to parse out the vital technical data from anti-developer emotion. For all its contentious politics, neighboring Irvine appears to have assembled a City Council majority for Mayor-elect Larry Agran that will make open space and land-use planning a priority, without a growth initiative on the ballot.

But for any city going the initiative route, voters still can’t be sure of what they will get. Too often the results, no matter which way they come out, are destined for legal challenges, moving the battles from the court of public opinion to the courtroom and leaving the outcome in the hands of attorneys and judges instead of voters.

County residents saw that happen when Measure F was approved by an overwhelming vote. The initiative, which requires a two-thirds vote by residents before any major airport, jail or toxic waste dump can be built, is still mired in the courts. A legal challenge from the supervisors themselves is likely for Tuesday’s ballot issue to determine how the county will spend the estimated $30 million in tobacco settlement money.

City measures in Newport Beach, Brea and San Clemente dealing with land use and seeking to take development out of the hands of elected officials also could face court challenges.

Some contests, notably in Irvine and Tustin, were marked with mudslinging and hit pieces sent out just days before balloting, making questionable personal attacks on candidates. Some of those may also result in lawsuits.

Despite the sometimes bitter campaign battles and possibility of continued conflict in the courts, it’s time for all factions to stop playing political hardball. Now that the elections are over, there is a chance to work toward finding the compromises and common ground needed to solve major problems. This is how to make our neighborhoods and local government the best possible. Today’s residents and future generations deserve no less.