Board of Supervisors Stays Pro-Airport

The latest attempt to block development of an international airport at El Toro failed Tuesday when voters reelected Board of Supervisors Chairman Jim Silva, maintaining the board’s solid pro-airport majority.

Silva retained his District 2 supervisorial seat against Huntington Beach City Councilman Dave Sullivan, an airport opponent who received heavy financial backing from South County groups trying to derail the county’s aviation plans.

Silva will be joined on the five-member board by community college trustee Cynthia P. Coad, a solid El Toro supporter who handily defeated Anaheim Councilman Lou Lopez in the race to succeed retiring District 4 supervisor William G. Steiner.

South County leaders saw the Silva-Sullivan race as one of their last remaining chances to block the airport, which is now in final planning stages and will come before the Board of Supervisors for a final vote in fall 1999. A Sullivan victory would have given opponents a 3-2 majority and thrown the airport planning process into disarray.

Silva’s victory makes it more likely that anti-airport forces will place a countywide measure on the 1999 ballot asking voters to scrap the aviation plans and instead build homes, offices, parks and cultural attractions at the 4,700-acre base.

Coad attributed her victory to her experience as an educator and longtime trustee at the North Orange County Community College District. She vowed to be a strong public voice in favor of the El Toro airport but said she would also reach out to residents who fear the project will bring traffic and noise to their neighborhoods.

“I’m aware of community concerns, and I will address those,” she said.

The election marks the latest in a string of setbacks for El Toro opponents. They have twice lost countywide referendums on the airport issue and failed to get a Superior Court judge to block the planning process.

The airport issue had dominated the Silva-Sullivan race, even though the northwest county district is miles from the El Toro base, and many residents said they don’t consider the issue of primary concern.

Silva, a former Huntington Beach mayor who was first elected to the board in 1994, was forced into a runoff election in June by Sullivan. In the primary, Silva earned 45% of the vote compared with 26% for Sullivan.

The runoff was first seen as a David-versus-Goliath struggle between a well-financed incumbent and a scrappy challenger. But airport opponents soon saw the race as an opportunity to break the 3-2 Board of Supervisors majority that supports the airport. So they began aggressive fund-raising efforts that helped Sullivan quickly match Silva’s campaign war chest. In the last reporting period, Silva had about $290,000 and Sullivan had $270,000.

At issue is the county’s plan to convert the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into an international airport capable of handling 25 million passengers a year by 2020. Voters in 1994 approved a countywide ballot measure calling for an airport at the base, and the Board of Supervisors approved preliminary plans in 1996.

County planners are now completing a final environmental impact report on the $1.4-billion project, and the board is scheduled to take a final vote next fall.

South County residents strongly oppose the proposal, fearing noise from the hundreds of jets a day that would fly over portions of Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, Irvine and Coto de Caza.

Silva argued that an international airport at El Toro would be a magnet for economic growth countywide, helping bolster world trade and tourism. He said residents in Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Seal Beach and other communities in his district would benefit from the jobs and convenience a new airport would create. Right now, many Orange County residents must travel 40 miles to Los Angeles International Airport because John Wayne Airport offers a limited flight selection.

Sullivan, however, argued that the airport is not worth the environmental and traffic problems.

The challenger supported a non-aviation alternative developed by airport opponents. The “Millennium Plan” calls for the construction of homes, offices, parks, museums, a university and a football stadium on the 4,700-acre base.

The race--considered the most competitive and nastiest supervisorial election in years--was also marked by the contrast between the two candidates.

Silva, 54, generally supports development, including plans to build homes around the Bolsa Chica wetlands. Sullivan is considered more of a slow-growth advocate and made a name for himself as a vocal opponent of the Bolsa Chica project.

Silva touted his efforts to help bring the county out of its 1994 bankruptcy and place it on a more secure financial footing. But Sullivan criticized the supervisors for being too close to County Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier, who the councilman contends has too much power.

The Sullivan-Silva contest has largely overshadowed the District 4 election because both Coad and Lopez support the airport plan, as did Steiner. However, toward the end of the campaign, Lopez began to waver after hearing a deluge of anti-airport sentiment in some of the precincts he walked. Lopez’s sudden lukewarm support for the airport prompted Steiner, his longtime friend, to endorse Coad.

But there were issues that divided the candidates, including the future of Mittermeier. Lopez has said he did not support the extension of her three-year contract. He has also said he wants the board to have more oversight of her hiring decisions. Coad supports Mittermeier.

Coad spent far more money on the campaign than Lopez, with most of her $470,920 war chest coming from her own bank account. Lopez raised $43,037 and ran a more grass-roots style campaign.

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Contributing to tonight’s election coverage were Times staff writers Agnes Diggs, Virginia Ellis, Megan Garvey, John Glionna, Matea Gold, Greg Hernandez, Carl Ingram, Eric Lichtblau, Eric Malnic, Seema Mehta, Jean Merl, Josh Meyer, Tina Nguyen, Robert Ourlian, Tony Perry, Amy Pyle, David Reyes, Lisa Richardson, Beth Shuster, Hector Tobar, Peter M. Warren and Phil Willon, correspondents Steve Carney, Jack Leonard and Richard Winton, and photographers Don Bartletti, Alex Garcia, Richard Hartog, Karen Tapia and Geraldine Wilkins-Kasinga.