Redistricting Plans Could Affect El Toro Airport Issue
Several proposals to change the boundary lines of Orange County's five supervisorial districts could dilute the clout of south County cities opposed to an El Toro airport.
The maps are among a dozen options for new district lines to be unveiled Wednesday at a public hearing in Laguna Hills. A redistricting committee composed of representatives from each supervisorial office will make its recommendations this month to the Board of Supervisors.
Most of the proposals move political powerhouse Newport Beach out of its south County 5th District. Most also either split Irvine between two districts or move the whole city to another district with cities whose officials back a new airport.
Irvine has spent the most money fighting a new airport at the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station; Newport Beach has spent the most to support it.
Most of the maps unveiled so far also cluster the rest of south County's cities, now spread between two districts, into a single district.
The maps all share another aspect: They place Santa Ana, the county seat, within one district. The city, which has the highest percentage of minority residents in Orange County, now is split among three districts.
"I think the motivation from Day One was for the pro-airport majority to reduce south County's representation to one board member," said Supervisor Todd Spitzer, one of two anti-airport supervisors on the five-member board and who is seeking an Assembly seat in March.
A challenge by south County residents against such a move could be tough, he said. Redistricting law encourages clustering "communities of interest" together and protecting the political power of minority areas.
The controversy over whether to build an airport at El Toro has shaped county politics for seven years. The new airport has been supported by a bare majority of supervisors since 1994, when voters approved new airport zoning. But some issues, such as approving new leases for the airport, need approval by four supervisors.
Some Proposals Based on Population
James Campbell, chairman of the county's redistricting committee, said he submitted eight options based on population, not politics. One map splits the county along its major freeways; another keeps every city whole within a district.
The rest of his maps acknowledge an explosion of growth in south Orange County in the last 10 years, said Campbell, chief of staff for pro-airport Supervisor Chuck Smith.
