Poll shows increase in airport support

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT-MESA -- Support for an airport at the closed El Toro Marine

Corps Air Station has jumped 7% since March, according to a poll released

Wednesday.

The Orange County Business Council and Cal State Fullerton funded the

telephone poll, which was completed between June 19 and July 2 by the

university’s Social Science Research Center.

Pollsters asked a random sampling of 532 Orange County residents two

questions: whether they would support or oppose an airport at El Toro and

whether they would vote for a ballot measure, set for March, that would

pave the way for a Great Park at the base.

Of the people surveyed -- the 10% who were undecided or didn’t answer

weren’t counted -- 46.8% supported an airport versus 53.2% in opposition.

The poll registered a 4.34% margin of error.

Counter to those numbers, 62.4% said they would vote for the park

measure, with 37.6% saying they wouldn’t support an idea floated by

Irvine Mayor Larry Agran.

Airport advocates were heartened by the study. They attributed the

jump in support to a public information campaign mounted by the county

earlier this month, closer scrutiny of the Great Park plan and a troubled

economy.

The Airport Working Group has produced several fliers and television

ads criticizing the park.

“That’s big,” group spokesman Dave Ellis said. “We’ve been working

aggressively. It’s starting to pay off.”

The majority, about 80%, of the poll’s sample was taken from North

County. South County households made up 20% of the homes polled.

Meg Waters, the spokeswoman for the the 10-city coalition of South

County cities fighting the county’s airport plan, questioned the validity

of the data.

Waters said the business council’s involvement raises a red flag,

because the group supports building an airport at the base.

“They’ve always tried to give a pro-airport spin to these things,”

Waters said. “If the business council was not involved, I would take it

more seriously.”

Julie Puentes, the spokeswoman for the council, denied that the poll

was motivated by politics.

Since March when the last poll was done, the Great Park plan has come

into the debate. And the high costs of developing a park at the base are

likely to sway more voters in favor of an airport, Puentes said.

“I think there’s bound to be disenchantment about the Great Park as

soon as the costs come out,” Puentes said. “A certain measure of doubt

has started to be created about the Great Park.”

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

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.

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