STEVE SMITH -- What’s up

If California’s 70th District Assemblyman John Campbell isn’t speaking

to me for a while, I’ll understand. You see, I was the one who, 20

minutes into Campbell’s first-ever “Coffee with John Campbell,” asked him

about the El Toro airport.

Specifically, I asked Campbell about using Camp Pendleton for the

airport instead of El Toro.

Campbell’s position, in case you’ve missed it, is that John Wayne

Airport should not be expanded and that a new airport at El Toro should

not be built. “I will do everything in my power to see that John Wayne

does not get expanded,” he declared last Saturday.

In his reply, Campbell included Pendleton in a mix of alternatives,

including March Air Force base and an expanded airport in Ontario, which

has had the welcome mat out for at least a couple of years. Campbell’s

airport leanings are consistent with the “Southern California public

officials” who recently met in Washington with Transportation Secretary

Norman Y. Mineta and Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey.

I was standing next to Campbell as he told the growing crowd at

Diedrich’s on Baker Street in Costa Mesa about the El Toro alternatives,

but I didn’t see her approaching until “she” was at my left elbow.

“She” was a senior citizen, and although I had about 12 inches and at least 100 pounds on her, she managed to muscle her way past me with a

poke in the side to give Campbell an earful. She explained that she was

in a coma two years ago and “sometimes I scramble my words.”

She then delicately discussed El Toro’s opponents in one sentence. “I

think they’re jerks!” she yelled. Through it all, Campbell was patient

and polite.

“What have I done?” I thought as I backed away. In the rear of the

pack, I sought refuge with acquaintance Del Heintz, who wondered aloud

which scoundrel cast Campbell into the bottomless pit that has become the

El Toro debate. “Oh, you’re the one!” joked Heintz.

But Campbell held his own against the marauder and others who are

concerned about our ability to meet our aviation needs. Let’s face it,

other than the V-plan, there really isn’t much El Toro stuff to talk

about anymore. We seem to just rehash the old arguments into new spin,

hoping to pick up a few allies along the way. These days, it seems, it is

merely a question of who talks the loudest.

The airport issue passed rather quickly, replaced by energy issues,

which dominated the two-hour session. Soon, Costa Mesa resident and

former City Council candidate Dan Worthington was questioning Campbell

about what could be done to protect Californians from identification

theft. There was also talk about affordable housing, another hot topic.

Costa Mesa resident John Feeney showed Campbell photos of graffiti in

his Mesa North neighborhood and proceeded to give me a tongue lashing for

what he perceived to be my opposition to Costa Mesa’s proposed ordinance

that would force landlords to evict tenants who have been arrested on

drug or gang-related charges. “So this is what it’s like,” I thought.

Another constituent asked where the lottery money has gone, then

someone asked when our Proposition 13 money would be returned, and that

was followed by discussions on amnesty for undocumented aliens (“It sends

the wrong message,” said Campbell) and stricter safety rules for trucks

coming in from Mexico.

The coffee gathering was a partnership between Campbell’s office and

Diedrich’s, the coffeehouse chain with Orange County roots. Desiree

Farden, Diedrich’s director of marketing, was on hand to assess the

results.

“The coffees are in the spirit of what Martin Diedrich thinks of as a

true coffeehouse, where people get together and exchange ideas. People

don’t get this kind of opportunity to speak directly to their elected

representatives,” Farden said.

That is too true.

Campbell is planning more coffees, one coming up in Irvine and one in

Newport Beach. If you stay home, you’ll miss a great opportunity to see

someone who isn’t afraid to disagree with you but avoids name-calling,

one who takes his job seriously and has made quick work of many of the

laws and rules he must know to succeed in California politics.

You’ll miss meeting a man whose work ethic got him named Freshman

Republican Legislator of the Year, one of only three named in the entire

country. He has also been named vice chairman of the Assembly Budget

Committee for 2002 and vows to hold the line on new taxes.

But most of all, you’ll miss the chance to speak to a man who told his

staff, “Tell the truth and you’ll never have to be nervous about your

response.”

As he did Saturday, Campbell’s buying the coffee next time too. I

think I’ll let you be the one who brings up the airport, and if “she”

shows up again protect your rib cage.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and freelance writer. Readers

may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at (949) 642-6086.