El Toro backers sticking to their guns

Jasmine Lee

NEWPORT BEACH -- Campaign organizers insisted Wednesday that neither poll

results nor a decreased need for county jails will shift the focus of

their attack against Measure F, a ballot initiative designed to block a

proposed El Toro airport.

Bruce Nestande, who is heading up the opposition to the measure, said the

campaign will take on a more aggressive edge next week with the launch of

a television commercial urging voters to defeat Measure F.

“It will focus on public safety, as far as families are concerned,”

Nestande said.

“The campaign efforts are just beginning,” he added. “People have not

seen much so far.”

Nestande’s organization, Citizens for Jobs and the Economy, also started

sending out mailers last week warning voters that the measure could put

criminals back on the streets because there is no room in the county’s

overcrowded jails.

Measure F, set for the March 7 primary election, would require a

two-thirds majority by voters to approve certain projects, such as

airports, jails and hazardous waste landfills.

A Times Orange County poll published Tuesday concluded that the majority

of people surveyed support the anti-airport measure.

Many local groups have declared war against the measure, saying that if

it blocks the county’s proposal to build a $2.9-billion airport at the

closed El Toro military base, it could mean another runway and a second

terminal for John Wayne Airport.

However, a key argument made by Measure F opponents has skirted the

airport issue and focused on public safety. They have said the measure,

if passed, could prevent the county from solving its jail shortage

problem.

But Tuesday, Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona announced that overcrowded

jails would no longer be a problem because crime rates have been

dropping. Carona predicted that the county will only need 4,650 jail beds

by 2025 -- half the number previously projected.

Nestande said Measure F still poses a threat to public safety because

there is no way to forecast the need for jail beds after 25 years have

passed.

“The problem is still there -- it’s still a jail issue, it’s still a

public safety issue,” Nestande said. “This does not solve the long-term

problem. The bottom line is, they’re playing a political game with public

safety and that’s not right.”

Leonard Kranser, a Measure F supporter, said the campaign against the

measure depends solely on scare tactics. Kranser, who received a flier

from Nestande’s organization this week, said he does not expect the group

to change its campaign in light of the sheriff’s new jail plans.

“It’s all law-and-order scare tactics,” Kranser said. “But, I’m sure,

what they’re going to do is still continue to mail the old message, use

the old quotes from Carona.”

The sheriff, who is opposed to Measure F, has previously said the measure

would cause problems for the county’s overcrowded jails.

The local anti-measure campaign, however, has a different tone to it. The

Newport Beach and Costa Mesa communities continue to strongly oppose

Measure F, despite the obstacles that have been highly publicized in

recent days.

More than 300 residents packed a Tuesday evening meeting at Kaiser

Elementary School in Costa Mesa to learn more about the possible

expansion at John Wayne Airport. There have been similar meetings hosted

by the PTA at two Newport Beach elementary schools and one Tustin school.

The presentations were coordinated by the Newport Beach-based Airport

Working Group, which has for years been fighting expansion at John Wayne.

The group has inspired countless residents to rally against the measure

and for an airport at El Toro.

However, it is the rest of the county that may need convincing.

The Times poll showed that 52% of people polled oppose an airport at El

Toro, while 33% favor the project. Fifteen percent did not have an

opinion.

Airport advocates will branch out to hold informational meetings Feb. 29

in Anaheim Hills and March 1 in Orange and Villa Park.

The meetings will continue in home territory as well, with sessions

scheduled for Feb. 23 at Ensign Intermediate School in Newport Beach,

Feb. 24 at TeWinkle Intermediate School in Costa Mesa and March 2 at

Davis Education Center in Costa Mesa.

David Ellis, a consultant for the group, said the meetings were held

first in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa -- where public opinion favors an

El Toro airport -- to create a support base for the campaign.

“You always have to have a base,” Ellis said. “These people need to

understand how this will affect them, and now they do.”