Rohrabacher ‘sick’ of El Toro fight

Paul Clinton

COSTA MESA -- Backers of an El Toro airport have lost a highly placed

ally with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher announcing he is bowing out of the

debate.

Rohrabacher, who represents Costa Mesa, said he has been spending most

of his time working to rebuild a shattered Afghanistan rather than

fighting for an airport in Orange County.

The congressman traveled to the country last week, announcing he

favored a Central Asia version of the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild

Europe after World War II.

“I am sick of the issue,” Rohrabacher said about the debate over the

future of the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. “I’m trying to win

a war in Afghanistan.”

In past years, Rohrabacher has been an active airport booster,

lobbying the Navy and other federal agencies when pressed into service by

local groups.

The outspoken congressman shifted gears after the March 5 passage of

Measure W, which rezoned the base from aviation to open space and opened

the door for a Great Park.

Airport supporters put a brave face on the news, saying they didn’t

need the congressman’s support.

“Dana has been with us for some time, and we recognize that priorities

shift,” said Tom Naughton, the president of the Airport Working Group.

“AWG has stayed the course.”

Rohrabacher said he still supports an airport for the 4,700-acre base,

however slim the odds. On March 6, the Navy announced that it would

consider auctioning off the land to the highest bidder in the private

sector.

Rohrabacher’s colleague Rep. Chris Cox, who represents Newport Beach,

has long advocated that route for the base.

In fact, both men signed an Aug. 6, 1997, letter to then-Orange County

Chief Executive Jan Mittermeier supporting the transfer of the base from

“government ownership to private ownership.”

The development of the base, Rohrabacher said, should be “subjected to

the discipline and control of competitive market forces.”

Rohrabacher also said he was troubled by the timing of the Navy’s

announcement that it could dispose of the base at an auction. The

announcement came the day after the approval of Measure W on a 58%

margin.

The congressman said the information, if made public before the

election, could have swayed the tide against Measure W. Rohrabacher said

he would be disappointed if any other congressmen, including Cox,

influenced that decision.

“The fact that the Navy withheld such vital information indicates to

me that the vote would have been reversed,” Rohrabacher said. “I don’t

know if Chris [Cox] or somebody else suggested the Navy withhold that

information. That was an undemocratic thing to do.”

Cox could not be reached for comment.

* Paul Clinton covers the environment, John Wayne Airport and

politics. He may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

paul.clinton@latimes.comf7 .