Congressman Chris Cox puts the spin to...

Congressman Chris Cox puts the spin to the El Toro numbers

In an article published in your paper by Chris Cox on Feb. 25, I

was amazed at how Cox went out of his way to put a false spin on the

numbers from the El Toro sale.

Somehow, the Congressman doesn’t seem to understand the simple

math, as follows:

* $649.5 million: Congressman, this is how much the Navy received

from the sale of the base of which there were a total of 3,719 acres

sold. This is simple division, Chris. The result: $174,644 per acre.

* $1.5 billion: Congressman, this is how much it cost taxpayers to

close the base according to Art Bloomer, former El Toro commanding

general.

* $275 million: Congressman, this is how much it will cost to

clean up the base according to the Environmental Protection Agency

and the Department of Defense.

Now, Congressman, when you take the proceeds from the sale, less

the cost of closure, less the cost of cleanup, the simple math proves

the sale of El Toro cost taxpayers over one billion dollars!

I can certainly understand why Cox is trying to spin the numbers

considering how the real truth of the matter is a colossal

embarrassment to the Congressman and the Navy, which is something Cox

doesn’t want anybody to focus on for too long especially when you

consider how Cox is touting El Toro as a national “model” for other

bases to follow.

Cox also claims taxpayers recouped more from the El Toro base sale

than any in U.S. history; this, too, is an outright lie designed to

deflect embarrassment.

If Cox can’t get the math right, how can we rely on him to

represent us in Congress?

PAUL JANSEN

Costa Mesa

Here’s an idea: Let’s sell

El Morro plots on Ebay

So Assemblyman Chuck Devore thinks that the residents of El Morro

should be permitted to continue living on my stretch of beach, but

only if they pay rents more in line with the marketplace.

Who, I ask, determines what constitutes market rates? Perhaps

there’s a simple way to grant Devore’s wish of bringing in lots of

cash to help out our financially strapped state.

Let’s look at the recent auction of El Toro Marine Corps Air

Station.

Congressman Cox assures us that this auction brought in every

nickel the base was worth, because the process was open, aboveboard

and fully competitive. Well, why don’t we apply these same principles

to El Morro? Let’s auction leases on these parcels on Ebay to the

highest bidder. Then, whoever lives at El Morro will be determined by

how much they’re willing to pay.

If the current residents are wealthy enough to give Devore $66,000

in campaign donations, I’m pretty sure they’d be happy to reach down

deep and bid a bundle to keep living in a place they’ve repeatedly

contractually agreed to leave.

Or, if not, they’d be replaced by someone who is. Supply and

demand economics. Isn’t it great?

CHUCK CASSITY

Costa Mesa

If the sale were voided,

El Toro would not be dead yet

Not so fast! As Mark Twain once wrote, “The report of my death was

an exaggeration.” Your editorial that the Airport Working Group’s

valiant effort to save the El Toro airport had failed was premature,

(“Purchase ensures end to dreams of an El Toro airport,” Feb. 27).

A sale of El Toro to the Lennar Corp. at a bargain-basement price

is such a giant fraud on the public that it can be reversed. Under

these terms the Navy stands to lose between $350 million and $600

million, with the cost of clean-up and the billion-dollar cost of

relocation included in the transaction.

As an example of the egregious nature of the sale, in 2002 the

closed Tustin military facility was sold at an average cost of

$887,000 per acre.

At El Toro, in a more valuable location, the average sale price

per acre was $173,630 to the same corporation. During this period

between 2002 and 2005, the cost of land rose 50% so that the loss per

acre at the El Toro sale can be estimated at over $1 million.

This is a fraud on the taxpayers.

Unfortunately, the media has been preaching the death of El Toro

airport. It is not dead nor should it be.

DONALD NYRE

Newport Beach