Congressman to Hahn: "Hands Off Orange County"
We really hate to keep piling on Jimmy Hahn, but he keeps giving us so many options to do so. Besides, its just fun.
We've slammed the Mayor (as have many others) for his ridiculous $11 billion sham plan to "modernize" LAX. We've also wondered at his unwillingness to explore options at Palmdale (here and here) in order to provide some much needed air travel facilities for Southern California.
Now some delicious drama is coming out of Orange County where Hahn is trying a grab of the former El Toro Marine Air Station as the latest airport owned and operated by LAWA. It appears Mayor Hahn (we're trying not to call him Poopy as a new year's resolution, and that was really a long, long time ago when he crapped all over Kenny Hahn's trousers in Chambers) wants the Navy to grease the skids for LA to lease the facility for an aiport. This is one day before the site is to be up for sale at an auction. To be sure he doesn't go down on this alone, he's managed to drag the other Tony - Cardenas that is - into the matter.
As great of an idea as the Mayor thinks this is, there are a few things standing in the way:
- The community down there doesn't want it. A 2002 vote designated the land as parkland by 58%.
- The Navy - owner of the land - says no.
- Transportation Secretary Norm Minetta - the Bush Administration's only Democrat - whose help would be needed to transfer the property from the Navy to the Department of Transportation says no.
- Larry Agran - the former Irvine mayor, Presidential candidate and current Irvine councilman says no AND isn't afraid to tell us the real reason Poopy (oh damn it , I just couldn't help myself) is pushing for El Toro at the last minute.
"We like our government local in Orange County, and we are not going to become a colony of Los Angeles."Like I said, we hate piling on the Mayor when times are tough, but he continues to show us he just doesn't get it. I have to question his sanity at this point. Does anyone talk to him about these things?
Representative Christopher Cox
(There is a good timeline of El Toro's recent history here.) Hat tip to LA Observed for the story.
Additional coverage at LA Voice.
Posted by Mayor Sam @ 1/04/2005 06:09:00 PM
9 Comments:
The Mayor has been trying to get El Toro for over a year and a half. Check these LA Times articles out. This is not an 11th hour attempt. A regional solution is necessary and Orange County needs to contribute.
Navy Says No to L.A.'s El Toro Plan
Affirming that the land sale will proceed, the acting secretary vows to oppose the city's bid to lease the former Marine base for an airport. Jean O. Pasco; Los Angeles Times; Jun 20, 2003; pg. B.6
County Coalition Backs L.A. on El Toro
City officials and two county supervisors ask U.S. agencies to consider the needs of the region when weighing airport bid. Jean O. Pasco; Los Angeles Times; Jun 13, 2003; pg. B.3
L.A.-Orange County Battle Over El Toro Intensifies
Jean O. Pasco; Los Angeles Times; Jun 10, 2003; pg. B.1
El Toro Airport Fight Begins Anew
Angered by L.A. Mayor James K. Hahn's plan to lease the former Marine base and run it as an airfield, Orange County foes vow to fight. Jean O. Pasco, Jennifer Oldham and Scott Martelle; Los Angeles Times; Jun 7, 2003; pg. B.1
L.A. Asks for Airport at El Toro
A secret memo urges the U.S. to let the city run a commercial operation at the former base. Strong Orange County opposition is expected. Jennifer Oldham and Jean pasco; Los Angeles Times; Jun 6, 2003; pg. A.1
It's great to see Orange County throw their passengers to LA. Sure there is money to be made from passenger fees, but the overall impacts on traffic, air quality, etc is enormous. Orange County, Riverside, San Bernandino need a major international/regional airport. John Wayne and Long Beach just don't cut it. Ontario is not pulling its weight. The leaders in OC need to market their airports better. LAWA needs to market Ontario better too. The problem is, as was stated in this posting, is that the community doesn't want it. So what do we do? Mayor Hahn needs to look at ways of spreading passenger traffic throughout LAWA owned facilities including Palmdale and Ontario. We can't win with El Toro. It's a done deal. We can only make way for the hundreds if not thousands of people who will be using LAX years from now.
Two points:
1) Yes Hahn has been pushing this for a while, but this particular effort (trotting out the other Tony) is a last ditch attempt as the thing will be sold tomorrow.
2) In terms of fair share, OC actually has more take-offs and landings proportionate to its population than any other county in LA. Also, the El Toro opponents make a good argument in the following:
The City of Los Angeles’s arguments about fair share distribution of aviation capacity has also been rejected repeatedly in all reputable aviation planning circles. The suggestion that each county should provide its so–called "fair share" of aviation capacity violates the fundamental principles of regional aviation planning. Allocation of airport capacity for passengers and cargo based on political boundaries in a region with the economic sophistication and diversity of Southern California demonstrates the short-sighted nature of the proposition. Nowhere in our national aviation system is the location of airports determined based upon county boundary lines. Aviation system planning should be based on a wide variety of considerations including the role and significance of existing airports, their potential to capture domestic and international markets and a host of topographic, environmental, airspace and safety factors. Several attempts to override these important principles of airport planning have been made by special interest groups in the past and have all been solidly rejected by our regional decision makers.
The answer - go to Palmdale!
We should go after OC anyway because they named their damn baseball team "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. How lame is that?
MAYOR SAM, you use a term like "delicious drama" and you say you are not a homosexual???
How about this? F#@k Orange County. Just like their community doesn't want to suffer from the impacts of an airport, I don't want them further impacting my community with their cars, pollution and additional air traffic.
And to the apologist above, having an airport in O.C. falls right in line with regional aviation planning. We're not talking political boundaries, we're talking about two major populated regions in Southern California that happen to be in adjacent counties. O.C. is not opposed to the plan because it doesn't make sense, they're opposed because they don't want the negative impacts that L.A. County is disproportionately taking on. They want a freakin' park for Christ's sake! The decisions to "override these principles of airport planning" were political and not based on some aviation planning textbook.
FROM MEAT:
How Hahn does things....Lies to the valley to win his first mayoral race, denies South LA the leadership he promised them, uses race has a way to get elected, tells LA the answer to their problems is a go nowhere does nothing LAX expansion plan, uses the OC as fodder for distraction to his previous lame transportation blunder (mentioned above). Gets into bed with shady PR firms that milk the city of precious tax dollars, and as their reward he hires them onto senior positions on his staff -- THEY ARE STILL THERE!!! Has the US Attorney, District Attorney, City Attorney, City Controller, 2 grand juries and an FBI investigation opened on him and his administration.
Wonder why he's lost 6 more points in the hypothetical match-ups in the last month, hmmmmm.
Oh yeah, Antonio numbers are improving, must be that recall finally doing its job, oops what recall?
blog away dum-dums.
Hahn's second attempt in a year's time to get control of El Toro is just more political grandstanding to distract the public from the lawsuits that have been filed (and more will be filed) this week against his fatally flawed $11.5 billion LAX Master Plan.
Prediction: State Court will invalidate the LAX EIR.
It is obvious that Hahn has no regard for the electorate. In 2002, Orange County voters put the final nail in the coffin on the proposed El Toro airport. In gunning for El Toro, Hahn has shown no respect for the residents of Orange County. If he wants to be successful in wooing Orange County residents, then he needs to make Ontario airport more attractive for "the OC" to use, particularly by having better freeway and rail links.
L.A. residents are in worse position when it comes Hahn's disdain for their needs. In 2001, Hahn and the five other major candidates for Mayor signed a pledge not expand LAX beyond 78 million annual passengers (MAP). When it came time to design Alternative D, Hahn left the public out of process and has forged ahead with a Ted Stein crafted plan that only had one change from the time it was unveiled until the Chicken Littles ("We've got to do something to fix LAX") on the City Council voted on Miscikowski's "Consensus Plan" (Same Alternative D Master Plan with a Different Name).
Just to think how better off L.A. might be if Steve Soboroff had not screwed up on opposing LAX expansion.
From: DWP Rascal
LMFAO, but really when was the last time Poopy had an original thought. But don't worry he's got a job waitng for him at Fleishman- Hillard. ABH
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