Safe and Healthy Communities

Prominent Supporters

		County Supervisor's Todd Spitzer & Tom Wilson have pledged their support for the Safe and Healthy Communities initiative. See the April 6th, 1999 Press Release.
		July 6, 1999 - Congressman Chris Cox (R-Newport Beach), has joined the rapidly growing ranks of those who have signed the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative. The Congressman was in Lake Forest for the annual Fourth of July parade. Christine Grey, one of fifteen volunteer petition gatherers covering the holiday festivities in her city, approached Cox, and Assemblyman Bill Campbell of Villa Park, both of whom added their signatures to her form.
		Congressman Ron Packard (R-Oceanside - 38th Senate District) reaffirmed his strong opposition to a commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station by announcing his official support for The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative. Packard, whose district includes portions of southern Orange County, said it's important for area residents to have a voice in the ongoing re-use debate. See the August 3, 1999 Press Release.
		State Senator Bill Morrow (R-San Juan Capistrano - 38th Senate District) has announced his strong support for The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative. This measure would put the decision making power in the hands of the people, requiring a two-thirds vote on projects that could affect the health and safety of a community. See the August 19, 1999 Press Release.
		Assemblywoman Pat Bates (R- Laguna Niguel) stepped-up her efforts to prevent airport development at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station by publicly announcing her support for the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative. Bates, a longtime foe of an airport at El Toro, said that the County’s base re-use process continues to disregard the concerns of the hundreds of thousands of people who will be impacted by this project. See the September 17, 1999 Press Release
		BILL CAMPBELL ASSEMBLYMAN, SEVENTY-FIRST DISTRICT 1938 NORTH BATAVIA STREET, Suite F ORANGE, CALIFORNIA 92865 February 1, 2000 Citizens For Safe & Healthy Communities Dear Committee Members: As a member of the State Assembly, I am responsible to the people in a large section of Orange County. I signed a petition for, and endorsed Measure F - - the Safe & Healthy Communities Initiative because I believe that the voters should have a choice in important matters that impact their quality of life. Passage of this Initiative will allow the voters to decide whether airports, large jail, or toxic dumps are built near their homes. Specifically, the Safe & Healthy Communities Initiative will give the people of Orange County the opportunity to decide the issue of the use of the Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro as a commercial airport. I am opposed to its use as a commercial airport. The recent release of the Airport Master Development Plan Environmental Impact Report 573 indicates that the runways are inadequate and will have to be replaced. The Report states because of runway replacement and other costs, the cost to develop a commercial airport will be $2.9 billion dollars! It is not a matter of simply changing the operations from military to commercial. It is very expensive. I am also very concerned about the impact on the quality of life for the Orange County people who live around El Toro. I stood under the airplane pattern approach at Laguna Woods when a 747 was test landed. Its noise and vibration were not just painful to the ears but the entire body. Vote Yes on Measure F. Give the people of Orange County a choice. Sincerely, Bill Campbell
		SIERRA CLUB ENDORSES THE SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE. The purpose of the Sierra Club is to explore, enjoy and protect the wild places of the earth, to practice and protect the responsible use of the earth's ecosystem and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives. In its desire to "protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment," the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, in 1997, took a position of opposition to the conversion of the El Toro Marine Air Station into an international, commercial airport. This opposition was based upon the belief that such an airport, located within an established and growing residential area, would create significant air pollution and noise problems, thereby degrading the natural and human environment of southern Orange County. Following from this opposition to the airport, the Angeles Chapter Executive Committee, representing the approximately 50,000 Sierra Club members living in Los Angeles and Orange counties, on April 22, 1999, voted to support the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative. Sincerely, Charles W. Buck Chair, Orange County Group Angeles Chapter Sierra Club September 30, 1999
		Click here for the 1999 National PTA resolution on Protection of Children from Harmful Effects of Aircraft Emissions. The National PTA has taken no position on the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative but many local members are supporters of the measure.