Steve Smith -- WHAT’S UP

We may as well be lepers. We’re the people who still like a good, thick,

medium-rare steak once in a while.

We often forget to use the word “chairperson” when describing someone in

a top spot and we don’t like “zero tolerance” -- not because it punishes

kids too severely, but because it punishes too many good kids too

severely.

And we are misunderstood by both sides of another debate that has split

the county in two.

Our friends and neighbors are stumped by our position on the El Toro

airport. Refusing to see noisy, smelly jetliners as an “either/or” issue,

we remain stubbornly in the gray area known as hope, compromise and

logic.

Our group does not have a name. We have no spokesperson, no budget and no

slick brochure or public relations campaign to further our cause. And

until recently, we did not have a politician of note who was willing to

stick his neck out to support us in any meaningful way.

Who are we? We’re the people who will fight vigorously to stop the

impending expansion of John Wayne Airport, but don’t believe that

shifting our burden eight miles down the freeway to El Toro is the “last,

best” hope for reaching our goal. Yes, we’re “antiairport.” But that

includes John Wayne, too.

Back to the guy who stuck his neck out.

County Supervisor Tom Wilson is not well-liked in Newport Beach and parts

of Costa Mesa. He’s a guy who is trying to protect some of his

constituents from having a noisy, smelly airport in their backyard, the

same way the pro-El Toro airport folks don’t want an expanded John Wayne

in theirs. He’s not buying the argument that the El Toro airport is

necessary for the future of the county. We’ve seen that future and it’s a

three-letter word spelled LAX.

But Wilson is mindful of his Newport Beach constituents, as well. Last

Monday, the Daily Pilot published Wilson’s declaration of his

willingness to “link arms” with the Airport Working Group -- the folks

supporting the El Toro airport -- in order to stop the expansion of John

Wayne.

In the Pilot’s story, Wilson was quoted as saying, “In Newport Beach, I’m

viewed as the guy who is against El Toro. Well, I’m also the guy who is

against the expansion of John Wayne.”

Wilson’s statement is not new; these sentiments date back at least as far

as last November, when he said in a letter to the Pilot that “A

cooperative, cohesive fight must be carefully planned and executed to

prevent [the expansion of John Wayne Airport].”

Wilson’s offer is not an attempt to shift the focus of the debate from El

Toro -- where some believe an airport must be placed to secure the

county’s future -- to Newport Beach, where a noisy, smelly airport

already takes its toll.

On the other side, the folks who are fighting El Toro will see Wilson’s

olive branch as “caving in,” as giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

The statement by Wilson is refreshing and addresses the heart of the

debate. The future of John Wayne Airport should be a local issue. County

residents should be the ones to decide its fate, not a committee 3,000

miles away in Washington.

Those who believe El Toro is not about a few developers getting richer

off the plank, but rather a question of securing some peace and quiet,

should welcome Wilson’s declaration. But many won’t. Many will cling to

their tired arguments one way or the other -- that their way is the only

way.

The real fight to limit the expansion of John Wayne Airport will not be

fought here in the county over the divisive El Toro question. It will be

fought in Washington, D.C., by people who don’t have to live with the

noisy, smelly jets and the horrendous traffic a larger airport will

bring.

Those folks may make their decision based not on whether our kids have to

live or learn or play under thundering jet engines -- the way many in

Costa Mesa and Newport do now -- but whether someone owes a campaign

contributor a favor or whether some political debt has to be repaid

because a colleague once voted in favor of something to help his own

cause back home.

Jaded or skeptical? Perhaps.

But I’m not taking any chances that would limit local control of the

monstrosity known as the international airport. An aggressive campaign

for local control must begin now. As Wilson told me succinctly on the

telephone two days ago, “The clock is ticking.”

So, thanks to Tom Wilson, I can now come out of the closet. I, too, am

against both an El Toro airport and an expanded John Wayne Airport.

I feel so good, I just may celebrate with a thick, medium-rare steak.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and freelance writer. He can be

reached at o7 [email protected] .