El Toro Petition Papers Will Be Reprinted

A printing error has delayed for a second time the distribution of additional petitions for an initiative to replace airport zoning at the closed El Toro Marine base with parkland and a nature preserve.

Supporters hope to gather enough voter signatures to place the measure on the March ballot, spokesman Len Kranser said. New petitions will be ready by this weekend, he said.

Supporters had rushed printing the petition so signatures could be collected during the Memorial Day weekend.

“We think the signatures we’ve collected so far are good,” Kranser said, “but given the nature of our opponents and how quickly they’d sue to overturn the will of the people, we’ll get a quick reprinting and do it right.”

Pro-airport consultant David Ellis said backers must present a correct copy of the petition for voters to sign. “There’s no such thing as a ‘printer error’ in the elections code,” he said.

Among the problems were the use of a light typeface; state law requires printing in bold. Organizers have until August to collect at least 71,206 signatures.