Argyros Near Appointment as Envoy to Spain

Wealthy Orange County businessman George Argyros’ appointment as U.S. ambassador to Spain is imminent and could come from the White House as early as today, sources told The Times.

If Argyros is confirmed by the Senate, it would mean the departure from Orange County of the most visible and aggressive supporter for the county’s most contentious public works project: building a commercial airport at the closed El Toro Marine base.

Airport foes, primarily in South County, have jokingly offered to help Argyros pack since talk of the ambassadorship surfaced last month. He is often referred to as “King George” on anti-airport Web sites because of his generous support--$3.5 million so far--for ballot measures promoting the new airfield.

Argyros has repeatedly declined to comment on any potential presidential reward after heading a $30-million campaign fund-raising effort in California last year for then-candidate George W. Bush. He was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

Argyros’ friend and confidant Bruce Nestande said the support base for the airport extends beyond Argyros. It has grown “and become more resolved” in recent years, he said, starting with the three-member pro-airport majority on the county Board of Supervisors.

“George is a critical linchpin to the success of commercial aviation at El Toro,” said Nestande, who is president of the pro-airport Citizens for Jobs and the Economy, formed in 1994 and funded primarily by Argyros.

“Notwithstanding any future potential appointment, he will continue to play an important role,” Nestande said.

While Argyros has been the airport’s chief promoter and financial backer, he has prodded even more forcefully in private to keep the project from stalling amid growing public opposition and bureaucratic infighting.

He pushed for the departure of former County Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier over her handling of airport planning, and urged the revitalization of a North County pro-airport group that earlier this year brought in a former El Toro commander, Gen. Art Bloomer, as its executive director.

Airport foe Mark Petracca of Irvine said it is Argyros’ considerable private influence and access to decision makers that would be tough to replace for airport boosters should he head to Spain.

“It’s easy to write checks--you can do that from Spain,” said Petracca, head of the political science department at UC Irvine. “The question is, is there someone of Argyros’ stature in the county that is as committed as he has been to building an El Toro airport? That [presence] requires being here. You can’t do it by e-mail.”

There also is the possibility that the nomination wouldn’t survive the Senate, he said. Argyros could be stung, Petracca suggested, by adverse publicity from plaintiffs in a class-action civil suit alleging that Argyros’ company, Arnel Development, routinely withheld cleaning deposits in violation of state law from renters of its thousands of apartment units.

The allegations are under investigation by the district attorney’s office, which has been negotiating a possible settlement with renters.

Len Kranser, who operates the most active anti-El Toro Web site, said he’d be happy to wave goodbye to his group’s biggest nemesis.

“It would be wonderful if [the ambassadorship] provided him with enough satisfaction in life that he’d leave El Toro alone,” Kranser said.

Argyros has high visibility in other areas of politics and philanthropy in Orange County. He is chairman of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda and of Chapman University in Orange, as well as Chapman’s major booster and benefactor. He is past chairman of Apria Healthcare in Costa Mesa and once owned the airline AirCal and the Seattle Mariners baseball team.

Argyros is the third Californian either named or under consideration for an ambassadorship in the new Republican administration.