A caller apologized to Fullerton City Councilman Chris Norby for bothering him during the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics. Norby smiled--he'd had no time for TV. He'd spent long hours at his daily ritual, calling more than 100 absentee voters.
Norby, who is challenging Orange County Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad on March 5, says he's campaigning the same way he won four council terms: with as much personal contact as possible.
His message: A plan for an airport at the former El Toro Marine base is a quagmire that has kept the Board of Supervisors from focusing on other vital issues. It will stay that way until the airport issue is dead, Norby theorizes.
And the airport won't die, he says, until someone replaces Coad, one of a three-member majority backing an international airport at the 4,700-acre former air station.
Norby, 52, a high school history and government teacher, is almost an anomaly among North County elected officials for his El Toro stance. It's made him popular with airport foes in South County, who have contributed the vast majority of his campaign funds. Some even put Norby campaign signs in their frontyards, although they can't vote for him.
Closer to home, three of his council colleagues endorse Coad.
Said Councilwoman Jan Flory: "In the seven years I've served with Chris, I haven't found him to be for anything."
Mainly what he's for, Norby insists, is less government--and one that does better at solving problems it's supposed to address.
Norby first gained attention outside Fullerton in the early 1990s when he organized Municipal Officials for Redevelopment Reform to promote a pamphlet he wrote. The pamphlet, now in its sixth printing, warns that redevelopment is out of control.
"Cities are put in a position where they literally have to pay money to big-box retailers to locate there," Norby said. "You can't blame them, because they know they can get it. But is it really good policy to allow these guys to shake cities down for money?"
Instead, Norby says, cities should reach agreements--such as one between Anaheim and Fullerton--that will keep new retail developers from pitting one city against another.
County supervisors don't have control over city issues like redevelopment. But Norby believes supervisors can promote cooperation.
The county board, he contends, "is a pulpit. We can set a tone, bring people together."
