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Military Base Closing The bickering among local government officials over who's in charge of the El Toro Marine Base conversion has taken a toll on residents' confidence in local government. Meanwhile, residents are divided on the most talked-about idea for the conversion -- turning the military air base into a commercial airport. Currently, only 9 percent have "a lot" of confidence that local government will come up with a plan for the base that will help the county's employment and economic outlook. A majority (55%) say they have very little or no confidence that local government can devise a plan that will be a positive one for the local economy. There are no differences by age or income. Democrats (55%) and Republicans (56%) are equally likely to say they have very little or no confidence. South County residents (47%) are a little more likely than those in the West County (34%), North County (36%) and Central County (38%) to say they have a lot or some confidence. Forty-eight percent favor building a commercial airport for passenger airlines and cargo shipping on the site of the El Toro Marine Base, while 42 percent are opposed. Ten percent are still undecided about the most-discussed plan for the base conversion. In the South County, 49 percent oppose and 44 percent favor the idea of having a new commercial airport in their region. Elsewhere, about half are in favor while four in 10 are opposed to converting the El Toro Marine Base into a commercial airport. There are no differences by age, income or political party. In all of these demographic groups, the numbers in favor are somewhat higher than the numbers of residents who are opposed. The fact that public support for building a commercial airport does not exceed 52 percent in any group indicates that Orange County residents are far from reaching a consensus on this important debate about local land use and economic development. |
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