Spitzer Tries to Avoid Hard Landing Over Airport Issue

Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who once firmly opposed an airport at El Toro, has softened his position recently as he has quietly told Republican Party leaders he is considering running for higher office in a pro-airport district.

In the last month, Spitzer has met with Assemblyman Dick Ackerman (R-Fullerton) and several GOP leaders to lay out his plan to run for Ackerman’s seat in the Legislature in 2000.

Ackerman acknowledged that he discussed such plans with Spitzer but would not elaborate. Other knowledgeable GOP party sources said Ackerman has agreed to support Spitzer as a replacement for his pro-airport district, and the supervisor has pledged to back Ackerman in a state Senate race.

As word of Spitzer’s exploration of higher office and shifting stance toward the airport has spread through GOP ranks, some South County anti-airport activists are worried that they have lost a key ally on the Board of Supervisors, which has moved the airport plans along mostly on 3-2 votes.

Thursday, Spitzer confirmed that he had discussed running for Ackerman’s seat with the assemblyman, but said that “right now” he is not planning to seek the seat. He did not rule out running for higher office one day. He said he is still opposed to an airport at El Toro Marine Air Station, which is being turned over to the county in 1999.

In fact, Spitzer said in a telephone interview from Washington, he was in the nation’s capital to seek federal support for the so-called Millennium Plan, which calls for residential, business and commercial development instead of an airport at the 4,700-acre El Toro site.

“If the majority of the board votes for an airport, I have an obligation to South County to do Todd Spitzer what I can to mitigate the impacts of an airport. That does not mean I am pro-airport,” he said.

Yet, the revelation of his behind-the-scenes talks with GOP leaders and Ackerman comes at a time when even Spitzer’s public opposition to the airport appears to have eased.

When he was elected 18 months ago, he flatly said: “I will not support” an airport at El Toro.

But last week at a public meeting packed with pro-airport residents, Spitzer blamed the media for mischaracterizing him as anti-airport.

In an interview before the meeting, he said: “I have a very open mind to listen . . . and make the best decision I can.

“It’s a very different climate now” than when he first took office, Spitzer said.

Numerous GOP party leaders believe Spitzer’s anti-airport stance will hurt him if he were to run for office in a pro-airport district. Dale Dykema and Doy Henley, chairman and president, respectively, of the party’s influential Lincoln Club, said it will be difficult for Spitzer to oppose the airport and win election in Ackerman’s district.

According to interviews with Ackerman and several party leaders, the 37-year-old supervisor had been looking ahead to the state Senate seat that John Lewis must vacate in 2000 because of term limits. Lewis’ district, like Spitzer’s supervisor district, is split among those who support and oppose an airport.

But in meetings with Ackerman in Sacramento, Spitzer learned that Ackerman is planning to run for Lewis’ seat. So Spitzer altered his plans, Ackerman said.

“The last time we spoke he mentioned he was interested in my seat,” Ackerman said. “He inquired if other people had expressed an interest in this seat.”

Winning Ackerman’s seat would likely require the support of pro-airport officials who dominate that district, elected officials say.

“The Republican hierarchy [here] is solidly for the airport,” Fullerton Councilwoman Jan M. Flory said. “Even though this is not a passionate issue for the average Joe, if the Republican stalwarts oppose him, that will hurt him.”

Added Buena Park Councilman Art Brown: “It’s important for him to start taking into consideration the constituents in the northern part of his district.”

Spitzer’s district is tricky when it comes to the El Toro airport issue. It stretches from such pro-airport North County cities as Fullerton and Yorba Linda to such South County anti-airport bastions as Mission Viejo and Lake Forest.

Those opposed to the airport face a difficult challenge and are counting on the support of Spitzer and fellow anti-airport Supervisor Tom Wilson.

“People are worrying about what is going on. They are saying, ‘Is he with us? Do we have a chance?’ ” said Leonard Kranser, who authors the anti-airport Web site. Over the last month, he said, many residents have registered their concerns about Spitzer on the site.

Only a few weeks ago, Wilson was summoned to a meeting with South County anti-airport leaders to ensure his loyalty.

It was that brand of loyalty that endeared Spitzer to anti-airport voters when he ran for supervisor two years ago.

“You deserve to know where I stand on vital Mission Viejo issues,” reads the letter from Spitzer that was mailed to South County voters in October 1996. “I oppose building an airport or a jail in South County.”

Starting several months ago, Spitzer toned down his fiery anti-airport rhetoric and began to be more conciliatory. He declared it was the planning process he objected to, not necessarily the concept of an airport.

At one point, he met with Newport Beach mayor and airport supporter Thomas C. Edwards and seemed to express neutrality.

“He said ‘Tom, I am not against an airport necessarily,’ ” said Edwards. “He has always said, ‘I want to make the process work properly.’ He has positioned himself very well.”

Last month, he told a group of 300 Tustin and Santa Ana residents that “if it’s going to be an airport, then do it right.”

At last week’s board meeting, Spitzer was publicly berated by his North County constituents for not towing the pro-airport line.

At that meeting, Spitzer hinted at compromise, saying that perhaps South County officials should try to negotiate an airport plan they could accept.

“Maybe it’s time to come to the table and discuss the issues of noise and the environment,” he told the audience.

Spitzer said Thursday that he was simply trying to patch things up between the two factions.

“I am very concerned about this entire county deteriorating over one issue,” he said. “I’ve reached out to many elected officials. I don’t want to have a war. I think we need to have a dialogue.”

Many anti-airport activists, like Bill Koggerman, chairman of Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, remain solidly behind the supervisor.

“I am not concerned about Todd Spitzer,” Koggerman said, “because I think he has a brilliant mind, he is a fair man and he understands clearly that the nonaviation plan produces the best jobs.”

Mission Viejo Mayor Susan Withrow--who opposes any airport plan, ran against Spitzer in the primary and backed him when he faced Assemblyman Mickey Conroy in the runoff--pledged her support for Spitzer, too.

“South County was a big factor in his victory margin,” Withrow said. “A lot of things may be going through his mind right now, but I think he is going to make the right choice.”

But others are not so sure, saying that politics may determine where Spitzer ultimately stands.

“His ambition exceeds his work product,” said John M. Gullixson, a Yorba Linda councilman. “I think he was taking a politically expedient position, which was anti-airport. He seems to be extremely adept at playing politics.”

Times staff writer Peter Warren contributed to this report.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

All Over the Map

Third District Supervisor Todd Spitzer plans to run for 72nd Assembly District--the only district in which all cities support El Toro Airport--in 2000. The onetime airport foe would replace Dick Ackerman (R-Fullerton), who plans to seek the state Senate seat for the 33rd District.

Districts

72nd Assembly: All cities supported Measure A, the 1994 initiative paving the way for an airport

3rd Supervisorial: Cities equally divided into pro- and anti-airport factions

*

Changing Views

Spitzer’s stance on El Toro has shifted over time. Here is what he has said about the issue:

October 1996: “You deserve to know where I stand on vital Mission Viejo issues. I oppose building an airport or a jail in South County.” (From Spitzer campaign literature)

November 1996: “The El Toro Airport would have a devastating effect on residents in the southern part of the county. I will not support it.”

April 1998: “Do my constituents want me to say, ‘No airport-over my dead body’ or ‘Negotiate the least impacting airport’ or ‘An airport at all costs’? I have a very open mind to listen ... and make the best decision I can.”

Sources: Times reports