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This page last updated on January 1, 2001
El Toro/JWA E-Mail Poll
Poll shows strong opposition to extending JWA caps
Public taking hard line against Newport Beach request
A poll, conducted amongst viewers of the El Toro Airport website, found respondents opposed to continuing operating restrictions on John Wayne Airport - by a margin of 5 to 1. The poll asked participants how they would vote on the Newport Beach request to the County for help on extending the existing caps.
In August, the Newport Beach City Council sought Board of Supervisors cooperation on a study, preparatory to extending the current restrictions on John Wayne operations for 20 additional years, until 2025. On December 5, the Board of Supervisors granted the Newport request by a vote of 5-0.
The poll was e-mailed to approximately 3,000 of the website’s viewers on December 19, 2000. 673 valid responses were received with 84 percent answering “No” and 16 percent saying “Yes” to the following question:
“SHOULD THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HELP NEWPORT BEACH TO EXTEND THE RESTRICTIONS ON JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT UNTIL 2025 AT THE CURRENT AUTHORIZED LEVEL OF OPERATIONS?”
Click here to see the e-mail questionnaire, which quotes a key section of the Newport Beach City Council request, a newspaper excerpt about the Supervisors’ vote, and the principal arguments for each side.
The group polled is not representative of the general population. The e-mail went to individuals interested in following the El Toro debate on the Internet, including members from both the pro- and anti-El Toro side. Most are anti-El Toro residents of South County. Nevertheless, the lopsided opposition to extending the John Wayne caps surprised some experienced observers.
A majority of Central and North County responses – which includes those from Newport, Costa Mesa, Tustin and cities to the north – also opposed extending the caps, but by a smaller margin.
Among those voting “Yes”, in favor of helping Newport Beach, were several South County leaders of the anti-El Toro and pro-Measure F campaigns. Backers of Measure F had proposed, through passage of that initiative, to protect residents near John Wayne as well as near El Toro, and to promote use of remote airports.
Some backers of the Supervisors’ action indicated support for continuing the current nighttime curfew but not the present limits on the number of flights or passengers. Therefore, a follow-up question was e-mailed to those who voted “yes”, attempting to discern their primary motivation. Click here for that second message.
Among the responses to the second poll, almost half of those who originally voted “Yes” - to continue operating restrictions – were willing to increase the number of flights or passengers, as long as the night curfew remained in effect. Combining the responses from the two questions shows those supporting an increase in the passenger limits outnumbering opponents by about 10 to 1.
The poll was undertaken after many e-mails and message board posts criticized Newport Beach for its opposition to Measure F, which was drafted to protect residents countywide. Negative messages increased when a judge ruled against the popular initiative on December 1, in a lawsuit brought by Newport Beach groups. The subsequent December 5 action by the Board of Supervisors, including the two anti-El Toro supervisors, brought complaints that the elected leaders were out of step with their constituents, and that there should be no deal on John Wayne without one on El Toro.
Responding to comments from the website’s Editor, Supervisor Tom Wilson e-mailed an explanation of his vote, saying, “I will push for NO PHYSICAL EXPANSION of JWA … At the same time, I have advocated moving more passengers out of that airport.” Click here for the entire December 21 message from Supervisor Wilson.
The intention of the website poll was to measure whether the opinions expressed were from a small core of vocal individuals, or whether they reflected widely held sentiment.
The poll showed wide opposition to extending the John Wayne caps on passenger service. It bodes ill for the Newport Beach effort unless fences can be mended with South County. Responses ranged from the pragmatic, “Utilize the airport we have.” to the belligerent, “No. They took their chances overturning measure F. Screw them.”