REBUTTAL

For three years, supporters of the Greenlight initiative (Measure S),

have mounted an unrelenting and continuous attack upon the city of

Newport Beach, its City Council, citizens, developers and others who

believe and know passionately that Newport Beach is the finest city in

California.

However, the Daily Pilot’s editorial (“Measure T should dump developer

money,” Aug. 24) continues in the tradition of Measure S proponents,

asking those who support and make Newport the wonderful city it is to sit

idly by and not mount any opposition, not to speak out, and not to

contribute money to get the facts out despite the continuing attacks.

It is the opponents of Measure S, and supporters of Measure T, that

“get it,” to coin the phrase repeated ad infinitum by the Pilot. They

understand what is at stake if Measure S should pass. They understand

that it will do more damage than any storm God could devise to the

Newport Beach community.

The Pilot perpetrates the false perceptions about the state of Newport

Beach, which are continually repeated by the proponents of Measure S, who

simplify a complex issue, display naivete’ and distort the facts when

they repeat the false and inflammatory phrases like “out of control

growth ...” and “rubber stamp.” Yet the Pilot doesn’t want citizens and

developers to fight back.

A review of the building and planning in Newport Beach, by all

accounts, discloses no major building project approved in the last six

years. As best as can be determined, the largest project approved would

have been the One Ford Road project -- a project that downsized the

existing industrial entitlement for the property and actually reduced the

amount of traffic.

Moreover, the paper also chose to ignore the comments of Measure S

proponents made on the record at the City Council meeting of July 25.

When asked which project they would have opposed at the ballot box over

the last 10 years, they could only point to one project -- the expansion

of a school. Boy, there is some “out of control growth” for you.

The same callous treatment of the facts can also be said about the

“rubber stamp” comment -- a comment which [Measure S] proponents also

could not substantiate in their comments before the July 25 City Council

meeting.

In fact, the Pilot, if it wanted to serve in the role of informing the

public, should have pointed to the long, arduous process that may and

usually does include any one of 14 different standing committees, with

input before upward of 129 citizens of the city. But the Pilot chose

rather to repeat false perceptions and attempt to make its case about not

fighting back.

After three years of continuous and false attacks, and despite the

protections of the First Amendment to the Constitution of free speech and

the right of association, the Pilot finds inherent evil if people decide

to fight back with their donations.

These are people who know that property values, safety, and quality of

life for everyone are at stake. When the expansion of your local

hospital, church or school is in jeopardy, they “get it” and won’t allow

it. Their support of Measure T, and opposition to Greenlight, demonstrate

that knowledgeable people are ready to take a stand for traffic

solutions, for safety, for strong property values, for strong and better

schools.

What is the saying? “In order for evil to succeed, all that is

necessary is for good people to do nothing.” Well, we’re not going to sit

idly by and let people destroy our community.

Finally, the Pilot falls into the trap of believing that there is

something evil about being a developer. Yet it fails to mention that

these ugly and horrible developers have also donated enormous sums in the

form of fees to our schools, roadways and parks in the city.

One example is the One Ford Road development, which contributed

approximately $8 million to schools and the city -- a project which would

not have been built under Measure S.

The recent announced opposition of the Newport Beach Police Employees

Assn. underscores what developers and citizens alike knew when they

contributed to the defeat of Greenlight and the support of Measure T --

the risks with Measure S are too great.

THOMAS C. EDWARDS and CLARENCE J. TURNER

Newport Beach

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Edwards and Turner are both former Newport Beach

mayors and coauthors of Measure T, also known as the Traffic Phasing

initiative.