Newport, AWG close to settling lawsuit

Paul Clinton

A pro-El Toro airport group and Newport Beach have reached a tentative

settlement with South County cities on a lawsuit that accused the group

of misspending public funds.

The settlement essentially ensures that no additional public money

will be spent on airport issues leading into Measure W, the March 5

ballot measure that could open the door for a Great Park at the closed El

Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

The Newport Beach City Council voted in closed session Tuesday to

accept the deal, said Richard Jacobs, attorney for the El Toro Reuse

Planning Authority. It was presented by the Airport Working Group, the

recipient of the funds.

On March 13, the City Council gave the Airport Working Group and

Citizens for Jobs and the Economy a $3.67-million grant for a public

information campaign on airport issues.

On July 27, the planning authority sued the working group and the city

alleging the working group had misspent the grant money. It is illegal

for public agencies to spend any taxpayer funds in support or against a

ballot initiative.

Leaders of the working group have said a series of fliers they

produced deriding the Great Park as a “great tax” and blasting supporters

as weasels weren’t directly oriented toward Measure W.

As part of the settlement, the planning authority has agreed to drop

its suit, Jacobs said. Both sides have agreed to no further expenditures

of public funds on the issue before March 5, Councilman Gary Proctor

said.