County Considers $5 Million for Airport P.R.

A $5-million, 15-month public-relations blitz to promote a commercial airport at the retired El Toro Marine base goes before Orange County supervisors Tuesday--an unparalleled burst of county spending leading up to an expected March 2002 anti-airport ballot measure.

The money would be used to sell the El Toro plan to an electorate that has become increasingly skeptical of the proposed airport. Recent polls have shown only a third of the registered voters in Orange County support the airport.

The county has spent little on airport public relations in the last 15 months, and after the passage of anti-airport initiative Mesure F last year, it was barred from pouring money into the airport fight. Measure F was since overturned in court.

Meanwhile, anti-airport forces in South County have spent millions, and even if the supervisors fund the $5-million campaign, it would be only a fraction of what airport foes have spent.

Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad, part of the three-member board majority pushing the airport, said the county has an obligation to provide residents information about El Toro. “There’s been a big void,” she said.

Airport foes on the board said they were angered by the proposed expenditure.

“This goes way beyond reason,” Supervisor Tom Wilson said. “This is a kick in the teeth to the people of Orange County.”

A ballot showdown on El Toro looms. Opponents of the proposed airport intend to put a measure on the March 2002 ballot asking voters to kill the project. This would be the fourth time the airport issue has gone before county voters.

The public relations plan, according to a proposal filed Friday by Supervisors Chuck Smith and Jim Silva, calls for the spending of $1 million by June 30 and $4 million more in the next fiscal year. The plan doesn’t specify how the money--drawn from John Wayne Airport revenues--would be spent.

The funds would be directed to the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, a 13-city coalition of North and Central County cities that support the airport proposal. The authority would manage the public relations campaign.

If funded as proposed, the campaign would eclipse previous county budgets for El Toro public relations. Last year, the county spent $176,000 on airport-related promotions. Supervisors, though, recently spent about $750,000 for lobbyists, pledging a $500,000 bonus if they can persuade the federal government to hand over the base before next year’s vote.

The anti-airport effort has been well-funded. Irvine alone spent nearly $5 million from July 1, 1999, to June 30, 2000, to promote building an urban park at the 4,700-acre base, according to documents released this week by pro-airport forces. A nine-city South County coalition, including Irvine, spent another $5 million on anti-airport publicity during the same time, said David Ellis, a pro-airport consultant who obtained the material through a public-records request.

Overall, anti-airport cities spent roughly $15 million in public funds fighting El Toro in the last fiscal year. The money was spent on lobbyists, attorneys and technical reviews, according to the records.

The South County effort intensified last year during the campaign for Measure F, an anti-airport county ballot initiative that passed in March with 67% of the vote. After its passage, county officials froze airport-related promotions and lobbying. Measure F was declared unconstitutional and overturned in December.

“It’s time to correct the record,” said Art Bloomer, executive director of the airport authority. The authority “will not let El Toro airport--a $10-billion gift from the federal government--fall victim to the falsehoods perpetuated by South County’s public relations machine.”

Public opinion polls show that support for the airport has dropped, slipping to just one in three county residents. Voters narrowly approved the airport in 1994 and defeated an attempt to overturn the approval two years later. The base closed in July 1999.

Wilson defended South County’s anti-airport spending over the years, saying city councils have responded to constituent demands to fight the airport. They’ve racked up large bills, he said, because the county has spent nearly $40 million planning the airport.

In response, Garden Grove Councilman Mark Rosen said, “Measure F has been thrown out, and it’s clear for the county to spend money, and so will the cities, though we’re not going to squander money like Irvine.

“I find it interesting that Irvine’s schools have been crying for money while their city spent millions to send [anti-airport] mailers to Garden Grove.”

South County forces said the March 2002 election will decide the issue.