Argyros nominated for ambassadorship

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT-MESA -- Supporters of the proposed El Toro airport could lose

their biggest ally, at least on the front lines, after President Bush

announced Wednesday that he was nominating George Argyros as U.S.

ambassador to Spain.

Some Newport Beach officials worried that as ambassador, Argyros, the

wealthy Costa Mesa businessman who has funneled $3.5 million into the El

Toro fight, would play a diminished role just as the issue is heating up.

“It will be a distraction, if nothing else,” Newport Beach Councilman

John Heffernan said. “It pulls him out of the county for sure. And it may

dilute his attention to the airport.”

Shortly after the Department of Defense placed El Toro on the base

closure list in 1993, Argyros formed Citizens for Jobs and the Economy

and brought both his Washington, D.C., connections and considerable

wealth to bear on the issue.

Argyros was unavailable Wednesday to discuss the nomination, which has

been in the works for more than a month.

“Mr. Argyros is honored by the president’s announcement of his

intention to nominate George Argyros,” said the businessman’s assistant,

Terry Galbraith. “Nothing is final. He looks forward to the completion of

the process.”

Argyros must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate after a series of

hearings, set to begin in the coming months.

Bruce Nestande, the president of Citizens for Jobs and the Economy and

a close friend of the businessman, said Argyros would stay involved. To

what degree is still unclear.

“It is really hard to define preciseness of involvement,” Nestande

said. “Clearly, George Argyros isn’t going to walk from this issue.”

About a month ago, Argyros sent letters to a handful of Newport Beach

officials reassuring them that he wouldn’t drop off the radar screen.

The presidential announcement comes at a crucial point in the El Toro

debate. With North County mobilizing for a public lobbying effort for the

airport, South County has begun to challenge a judge’s invalidation of

Measure F.

Also on the horizon is a pending countywide ballot measure in March

2002 to crystallize voter sentiment of the issue. The ballot measure will

be written by the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, the public agency

comprising the nine South County cities against the airport plan.

The group’s executive director, Paul Eckles, downplayed the

announcement.

“It’s a fun thing to speculate about over cocktails, but I don’t want

to attach too much importance to it,” Eckles said. “Ultimately, the

decision about this airport will be made by the people of Orange County,

not Mr. Argyros.”