EDITORIAL

Usually, around election time, people are pummeled with a barrage of

information coming from all sides -- commercials on television, signs on

the roadway, fliers in the mailbox -- all telling them how to vote.

While we are yet another source of data, our message is a little

different. We’re not telling you how to cast your ballots.

We’re just telling you to vote. Period.

It is arguably the most precious right in a democratic society, but all

too often people take it for granted. In the last general election

primary, voter turnout in Newport-Mesa was 44% in Newport Beach and 38.5%

in Costa Mesa.

Definitely room for improvement.

And if ever there were an election for which voters should come out, this

is probably it.

There are several crucial issues to be decided, some of which could have

dramatic effects on our community.

First, there’s Measure F -- the hotly contested Safe and Healthy

Communities Initiative, sponsored by South County residents opposed to

Orange County’s plans for a $2.9-billion international airport at the

closed El Toro Marine base. Newport Beach-based groups in favor of a

second county airport have scrambled to defeat the measure, saying its

passage could lead to a massive expansion of John Wayne Airport. And that

is something Newport Beach and Costa Mesa residents should be concerned

about.

Then there is Proposition 12 -- the largest-ever proposed bond measure to

preserve open space and improve parks. Newport Beach stands to get up to

$13 million from the initiative for Upper Newport Bay restoration

projects, and Costa Mesa could get about $1.3 million for Fairview Park

improvements.

There is also Proposition 26, which would reduce the required two-thirds

majority approval for school bond measures to a simple majority. If

passed, Proposition 26 would make it much easier for the Newport-Mesa

district to get its $110-million bond passed in June.

And, of course, there is the presidential primary election to decide who

will duke it out in November for the country’s top spot. Don’t forget:

This year, if you cross party lines when voting, your choice won’t count

toward who gets the nomination.

So before Tuesday, pick up that sample ballot that’s been sitting in your

mail pile for a few weeks and flip through it. Carefully read the pro and

con arguments for each issue or candidate, make your decisions and have

your marked-up sample ready to take to the polls.

While voting is your right, it is also, in many ways, your duty.