A quiet day at the polls

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT-MESA -- Voters in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach headed to the

polls Tuesday to do their part to defeat Measure W. In vain, it turned

out.

Charles Crone, a retired doctor, headed to the community room at

Bayside Village, where he said he voted “no” on the initiative.

Crone said he wanted to preserve the option of an airport.

“We have had a God-given gift given to us in El Toro,” Crone said.

“Why should we let [an airport] go away?”

Measure W rezones the closed El Toro Marine base, vacated by the

Marines in July 1999, from aviation to open space.

With 726 of 2094 of precincts reporting late Tuesday night, the

measure was passing, 54% to 46%.With the Orange County Board of

Supervisors putting a tentative approval in place for the extension of

the flight restrictions at John Wayne Airport last week, some airport

boosters feared voters wouldn’t show at the polls.

But many of those who did come out to vote said they felt strongly

about wanting an airport at the base.

Jerry Hornbuckle, who is married to former Costa Mesa Mayor Mary

Hornbuckle, said he wasn’t comforted by the extension of the restrictions

until 2015.

Hornbuckle said an airport at El Toro would solve future air demand

and protect communities most affected by planes from John Wayne.

Hornbuckle also said he wasn’t swayed by South County’s pitch that the

base should be converted into a Great Park.

“It’s inevitable that if we don’t have an airport there, John Wayne

will grow beyond its capacity,” Hornbuckle said. “I haven’t believed the

information coming out of South County. [A Great Park] is a pipe dream.”

However, that view wasn’t universal in Newport-Mesa.

Costa Mesa resident Paul James said he abandoned the airport plan

several months ago. James also said he grew tired of the arguments in the

long-running debate.

“It looks like that’s going to happen anyway,” James said about the

park plan. “[Airport supporters] are fighting a losing battle.”

For much of election day, workers at some polling locations chatted

among themselves and openly wondered about the apparent low turnout for

this primary election. The general election will be held in November.

As of Tuesday afternoon, an inspector at the polling place at Christ

Lutheran Church in Costa Mesa said he had checked off less than 20% of

his voters’ roster.

“People will come out for the general, but not the primary,” Gaines

said. “Maybe they don’t have the time.”

* Paul Clinton covers the environment and John Wayne Airport. He may

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

[email protected] .