Ricks candidacy flies on one big issue

Dave Brooks

Rex Ricks isn’t running for City Council because of the latest City

Hall scandal. He hasn’t said much about dealing with the city’s

budgetary problems and he’s been kind of mum on development issues.

What’s compelled Ricks to run is the nearly 41 jets that fly over

his Huntington Beach home each day, shaking his house, drowning out

his TV and generally irritating him and his neighbors.

Ricks is the quintessential single-issue candidate, running a

campaign to raise awareness about the possible expansion of the Long

Beach Airport. Surf City is in the direct flight path of Long Beach,

and if the small airport ever decides to expand flights, he believes,

Huntington Beach will suffer from increased noise and air pollution.

“No other issue in the city will matter if this place goes to hell

because of airport expansion,” he said. “Property values will tank

and nobody will want to live here.”

Expansion of the Long Beach Airport is anything but a done deal,

although Ricks points to several signs he says indicate it may be

preparing to take on more flights.

In September a special airport advisory board voted to commission

an environmental report to look at expanding the airport’s terminal

area to nearly 90,000-square-feet, more than five times its current

size.

More space for passengers could mean more flights, Ricks said,

although airport management have not indicated they plan to increase

flights.

Still expansion of the airport is on the radar of at least one

national transportation agency. In June, the Federal Aviation

Administration released a report calling for flight expansion of four

California airports by the year 2013. And on that list was the Long

Beach Airport.

“I don’t believe the city has taken enough of a proactive stance

on this issue,” said Ricks, who is promoting a no-growth stance

toward airport expansion. Ricks said he believed that part of the

problem was a lack of communication between Orange and Los Angeles

counties about the issue and a lack of coverage in the media.

“Those lines are just political boundaries,” he said. “Noise

pollution doesn’t care about county lines. Air pollution doesn’t

care. Water pollution doesn’t care.”

Ricks seems realistic about his freshman run at the council and

said he doesn’t plan to raise money, “pollute” the city with

political signage or take part in slate mailers. Instead he said he

has made it his goal to reach 5,000 homes and spread his message

about the dangers of airport expansion.

“Even if I don’t win this election, that’s OK because I’ve

informed people about the issue,” he said. “No matter how I finish,

people can not say they didn’t know it was coming.”