County begins countering South County ads

Paul Clinton

EL TORO -- To counter reams of South County mailers and TV ads

dressing down their airport plan for the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air

Station, Orange County airport planners have launched their own public

relations campaign.

The formal kickoff, at the base’s Building 83 on Wednesday morning,

came almost three months after the Orange County Board of Supervisors

approved it. On May 1, the board approved a $3-million contract with

Irvine-based Amies Communication for the work.

The program, to be known as “Just the Facts,” will involve mailers,

more than a dozen community meetings around the county, information

kiosks in strategic locations and a Web site to offer information.

The campaign is the second phase of the PR effort. The county also

awarded $5 million in March to North County airport groups to mount a

pro-airport campaign.

The Wednesday launch was well-received in Newport Beach, a city that

has lobbied hard for an airport at El Toro. City Manager Homer Bludau

said the board majority picked a good time to begin the effort, as it

moves toward approving the environmental review of the airport.

“The timing is great,” Bludau said. “Now is the time to rally to put

out as many facts as they have about the airport. They have been spending

money to obtain the facts. South County is spending money not on the

facts. Theirs has been on propaganda.”

Officials and civic leaders on both sides of the debate have been

pouring money into the El Toro issue almost since 1993, when the base was

tagged for closure by the federal government.

South County leaders are mounting an initiative for March that would

change the zoning at the base to pave the way for a central park instead

of the county’s 28.8-million annual passenger airport.

“If they want to disclose the truth, tell us that there’s not enough

room for two airports in Orange County and that there’s not enough

demand,” said Meg Waters, spokeswoman for a 10-city South County

coalition of cities. “If they’d like help about some of the downsides of

an airport, they’ve got my phone number.”

In addition to the glossy mailer, the county announced plans to host

“community open houses” in 10 cities over the next three months. A

meeting is planned for Costa Mesa in October.

The county also launched a Web site o7 --

https://www.eltorofacts.comf7 -- Wednesday.

The county plans to open a visitor’s center at the base in the fall

and install several interactive kiosks -- one of which would be located

at John Wayne Airport -- around the county.

The county also announced a plan to set up an informational booth at

the Orange County Fair now through July 23.

The El Toro debate flared on Tuesday during a live radio debate on the

issue between leaders of both sides. The 90-minute debate was hosted by

Warren Olney, the host of the KCRW-FM (89.9) program “Which Way, L.A.?”

Barbara Lichman, the executive director of the Airport Working Group

in Newport Beach, participated in the event. Lichman said she felt

confident the county would embrace an airport instead of Irvine Mayor

Larry Agran’s Great Park.

“I think we made the case for an airport a long time ago,” Lichman

said. “I think what we did [Tuesday] was destroy the Great Park.”