Some surprises on ‘F’ breakdown

Greg Risling

Although a majority of Newport Beach residents opposed the anti-El Toro

airport initiative earlier this month, detailed results released Tuesday

showed that several neighborhoods actually supported the measure.

Surprisingly, a handful of neighborhoods -- each already affected by John

Wayne Airport flights -- voted in favor of Measure F, which was the South

County-sponsored initiative aimed at killing the county’s El Toro plans.

According to Orange County registrar of voters data released Tuesday,

voters in Bonita Canyon, Newport Heights and the Dover Shores/Westcliff

communities narrowly supported the initiative.

“I’m at a loss for words,” said Newport Beach Councilman Gary Adams.

“There is no explanation. Maybe people didn’t understand the measure, or

maybe people thought it would protect the expansion of John Wayne.”

Of the 65 precincts in Newport Beach, only seven supported Measure F, a

ballot initiative that would require a two-thirds voter approval for any

future airports, hazardous waste landfills and jails.

Along with those neighborhoods, voters in Corona del Mar, Park Newport

and West Newport also backed the anti-El Toro measure.

The margin of support was as few as nine votes in one neighborhood.

While support was determined by a slim amount, the rest of the city

strongly opposed the measure by more than a 2-to-1 margin. Costa Mesa was

the only other city in Orange County that opposed Measure F, but the

margin there was separated by only 429 votes.

Despite the measure’s detractors in Newport-Mesa, the initiative won in a

landslide countywide vote, garnering 67% of the total count. It passed

overwhelmingly even in North County, where support of an airport at the

closed El Toro Marine base has been lukewarm at best. The closest margin

was in Los Alamitos, where Measure F passed by only 533 votes.

The push for an airport at El Toro has been strongest in Newport Beach

and Costa Mesa. The thinking has been that without building a second

airport to serve county residents, John Wayne would have to be expanded.

Measure F backers said expansion at John Wayne would be unlikely, given

the initiative’s two-thirds mandate. But opponents expect the two-thirds

requirement to be thrown out by the courts, paving the way for an

eventual expansion.

“It’s just a matter of time before the electorate of the county realizes

we need more space for an airport,” Adams said.

Residents in South County, where in some areas Measure F passed by as

much as 95%, believe John Wayne wouldn’t be exempt from the initiative’s

mission.

“The measure protects people in and around the John Wayne corridor,” said

initiative proponent Leonard Kranser. “I’m pleased that some of the

Newport Beach residents got the message that the measure will help, not

hurt.”

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Measure F final vote totals YES NO

PERCENTAGECosta Mesa 11,160 11,589 51% defeatedNewport Beach

8,266 17,983 68% defeatedCountywide 450,546 218,450

67% passed