‘Yes on F’ Also a Vote of No Confidence in County

Only two Orange County cities--Newport Beach and Costa Mesa--voted against the anti-El Toro airport initiative, a sign that the sharp divide that once characterized the fight over the fate of the base has turned into a countywide lack of confidence in the 5-year-old, $40-million airport planning effort.

The two coastal communities were expected to oppose the initiative because they are threatened by an expansion of John Wayne Airport if an El Toro airport fails. But a Times computer analysis of Tuesday’s vote shows the difference in this election was a surprising shift in the populous North County, which for years has thrown its support behind an El Toro airfield.

The breadth of support--the margin was 67% to 33%--was a clear referendum against the county’s airport planning process, said Fred Smoller, political science professor at Chapman University in Orange. The results suggest that even voters who favor the airport supported Measure F because of a concern that it was being “railroaded” into South County, he said.

“There were many people who realized that a flawed initiative was a better way to go than a really flawed planning process,” Smoller said. “It’s a vote of no confidence in the El Toro project.”

The computer analysis did not include 100,000 ballots yet to be counted Wednesday. Unofficial results showed 67% of Orange County voters backed Measure F. The initiative requires two-thirds voter approval before county officials can build new airports, jails with more than 1,000 beds within a half-mile of homes and hazardous-waste landfills.

The measure was favored resoundingly throughout South County, the heart of the anti-airport movement and home of the eight cities that joined to write the measure last year. Communities closest to the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station were among the measure’s biggest supporters.

In the community bordering the retired base, 95.4% of voters supported Measure F. The initiative was supported by more than 93% of voters in Aliso Viejo and Laguna Woods, neighborhoods that fall beneath the flight path of the proposed airport. Laguna Woods also led the county in voter turnout, with 68% of registered voters going to the polls, according to election data.

Even Backers Surprised by Margin of Victory

The measure fared well in the rest of the county as well, especially in Tustin, where it enjoyed 67.7% of voter support. North County cities posted similarly sound majorities, from 62.8% in La Palma to 56% in Villa Park.

Measure supporters were joyous but exhausted Wednesday as they contemplated the rout’s reach. Polls before the election showed the measure leading, but not by its ultimate margin.

“We’ve found throughout the process that the initiative was very popular countywide and it showed up in the results,” said Len Kranser, spokesman for Citizens for Safe and Healthy Communities--Yes on F.

In the wake of the drubbing by anti-airport forces, speculation abounded as to who in county government might be called to answer for the crisis in confidence in airport planning. An immediate target was County Executive Officer Janice Mittermeier, whose office has steered the project.

Board chairman Charles V. Smith said Wednesday that Mittermeier should not be blamed for an election swayed by millions of dollars drawn from South County city funds. He said he is satisfied with Mittermeier’s performance and added that the county intends to move forward with airport planning.

But the measure’s strength in North County could come back to haunt Smith and colleagues Cynthia Coad and Jim Silva, the other members of the board’s pro-airport majority, by putting them at odd with their constituents.

All the cities in Smith’s and Coad’s districts voted heavily in favor of Measure F. The same was true for Silva’s district, with the exception of Costa Mesa, which narrowly voted against the measure.

In yet another twist, Newport Beach, which includes Balboa Island and Corona del Mar, opposed Measure F by more than a 2-to-1 ratio; that city falls within the area represented by anti-airport Supervisor Tom Wilson.

Measure F opponents pledged to file suit by week’s end, claiming that the measure is unconstitutional. They will argue that only a constitutional amendment--and not a ballot initiative--can demand a two-thirds voter requirement.

A Superior Court judge who reviewed the measure before the election noted “grave concerns about its validity,” but allowed it to go before voters.

Another alternative, opponents said, is to attempt to rescind Measure F by placing a competing ballot measure on the November ballot.

“We said all along that it’s bad public policy, and it is,” said Bruce Nestande, chairman of Citizens for Jobs and the Economy, which spearheaded the No on F effort.

That campaign was fueled by $1.2 million in donations from Orange County airport booster George Argyros. Another $100,000 was contributed by other airport supporters, most in the last two weeks of the campaign.

Measure opponents downplayed the significance of Tuesday’s blowout. People responded favorably to the right to vote on large public projects, they said, not necessarily because they were against an airport at El Toro.

“People will always support the right to vote, that’s democracy,” pro-airport consultant David Ellis said.

Measure opponents complained that they were outgunned by glossy anti-airport appeals paid for by South County cities. Though cities cannot advocate positions on ballot measures, the cities repeatedly questioned the wisdom of the county’s airport planning and insisted that it would be better for Orange County to build a mix of homes, business centers and a large urban park at the base.

Measure supporters raised about $1.7 million for the Yes on F fight. South County cities spent another $7 million on last-minute mailers, cable TV advertisements, voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts--expenditures of public money that measure opponents have challenged in a lawsuit.

“What this [election] showed was that we couldn’t defend [against] all of the garbage out there,” Nestande said. “There was too much of it.”

The measure’s success was already being felt Wednesday in Tustin, which is part of a pro-airport coalition.

Tustin Mayor Tracy Wills Worley said Wednesday that Tustin’s 67.7% “yes” vote was a “definitive call” she could not ignore.

“The residents have spoken and there’s no sense going forward now” on pro-airport activities, Worley said. “People changed their minds, or made up their minds once and for all, and the final picture was different than what it was when we started.”

In Anaheim, where just over 60% of voters backed Measure F, officials questioned whether the results reflected a true anti-airport sentiment.

Mayor Tom Daly, who appeared in mailers urging voters to reject the measure, said the results in his city were “a little bit of a surprise . . . I think most Anaheim citizens are in support of a well-planned airport at El Toro.”

The measure allows the county to continue its environmental review of the project but forbids public money from being spent on lobbying and public relations efforts. Once the county completes its review, officials must hold public hearings in every “affected” city before placing the project for a final countywide vote, with two-thirds required for passage.

“We’re going to make sure that the county doesn’t spent a dime of taxpayer money on anything they’re not supposed to,” said Meg Waters, spokeswoman for a coalition of eight South County cities that drafted the measure. “Until a judge says differently, that’s the law of the land.”

Contributing to this report were Times staff writers Bonnie Harris and David Reyes.

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Measure F Landslide

Support for Measure F extended throughout Orange County, according to an analysis of Tuesday’s vote. Only two cities voted against the measure--Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, the two cities that would be most impacted by expansion of John Wayne Airport.

Source: Orange County Registrar of Voters

Measure F Voting

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City Yes-F % EL TORO 95.4% ALISO VIEJO 93.4% LAGUNA WOODS 93.4% TRABUCO 92.2% LAGUNA NIGUEL 92.1% LAKE FOREST 91.5% RANCHO STA MARGARITA 89.2% LAGUNA HILLS 89.1% MISSION VIEJO 88.5% LAGUNA BEACH 86.8% DANA POINT 86.0% IRVINE 85.2% CAPISTRANO BEACH 78.8% SILVERADO 78.5% SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 78.3% SAN CLEMENTE 71.8% LA MIRADA 68.9% TUSTIN 67.7% LA PALMA 61.8% BREA 61.4% BUENA PARK 60.8% ANAHEIM 60.7% ORANGE 60.5% STANTON 59.7% LA HABRA 59.5% FOUNTAIN VALLEY 59.4% LOS ALAMITOS 59.2% CYPRESS 59.2% YORBA LINDA 59.0% MIDWAY CITY 59.0% HUNTINGTON BEACH 58.9% PLACENTIA 58.6% FULLERTON 58.3% SANTA ANA 58.1% WESTMINSTER 58.0% SURFSIDE 57.5% GARDEN GROVE 57.3% SEAL BEACH 56.5% VILLA PARK 56.0% SUNSET BEACH 55.4% NEWPORT COAST 54.6% COSTA MESA 49.2% CORONA DEL MAR 35.6% NEWPORT BEACH 30.8% BALBOA 30.5% BALBOA ISLAND 26.3% LAGUNA WOODS 68% SEAL BEACH 61% BALBOA ISLAND 59% TRABUCO 59% VILLA PARK 59% SILVERADO 58% LAKE FOREST 58% LAGUNA NIGUEL 58% EL TORO 57% SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 57% MISSION VIEJO 56% YORBA LINDA 55% LOS ALAMITOS 55% BALBOA 54% DANA POINT 54% CORONA DEL MAR 54% SAN CLEMENTE 53% BREA 53% RANCHO STA MARGARITA 53% PLACENTIA 53% LAGUNA HILLS 51% ORANGE 51% LA HABRA 51% FOUNTAIN VALLEY 51% FULLERTON 51% NEWPORT BEACH 51% CAPISTRANO BEACH 51% HUNTINGTON BEACH 51% CYPRESS 50% LAGUNA BEACH 50% LA PALMA 50% SUNSET BEACH 49% ALISO VIEJO 49% NEWPORT COAST 48% COSTA MESA 48% WESTMINSTER 48% SURFSIDE 48% IRVINE 47% TUSTIN 47% BUENA PARK 46% GARDEN GROVE 45% ANAHEIM 45% SANTA ANA 44% STANTON 43% MIDWAY CITY 40% LA MIRADA 31% EAST IRVINE 0%

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Source: Orange County Registrar of Voters

Researched by Ray Herndon / Los Angeles Times