With Tuesday’s election behind us, we can be guaranteed we won’t receive those hateful political pitches from every camp for a while. P.R. firms say the best method of reaching the voter is the phone message left on answering machines. What do you think? Annoying or enlightening sound bytes?
Bitterness marked the evil television ads, and new lows were set by “I-approve-this-message” candidates, not to mention the Republican and Democrat national commercials for Mr. Bilbray and Ms. Busby in the 50th district. If Busby and Bilbray can’t control the commercials, how can they influence the Washington party leaders, Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Hastert? Pass the mouthwash because this election campaign leaves a bitter taste in the voter’s mouth.
However, what politicians have in store for November may be worse. It is the “boil the frog” story. Do you dump the frog (voter) into boiling water and send him into shock or do you turn the heat up slightly and fool him into thinking it’s just warming him? How can the American voter demand cleaner campaigns? We have been subjected to being dumped into boiling water; an example would be TV ads by both Mr. Vargas and Mr. Filner. We have also had the heat turned up by having those phone messages invade our homes. Didn’t we sign away telephone solicitations? Politicians exempted themselves. New York Times writer James Reston reminded Americans 40 years ago that “all politics are based on the indifference of the majority.”
Certainly, there are dedicated public servants in all levels of government, but power seems to corrupt and absolute power does corrupt absolutely. Has anyone gotten a postcard from Duke Cunningham on his extended vacation? Has anyone heard from Mrs. Duke?
While summer heat has kicked in, there will be a chill in the air soon enough when Nov. 7 gets around. Check out the hottest topic for June, the possibility of relocating Lindbergh Field to our neighbors at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS). The view from Route 52 will have us craning our necks to look upward at fully loaded 747s screaming over the Governor Drive area if the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority tries to convince the Congress and the military that commercial aircraft should mix it up with Miramar training flights. University City and surrounding communities ringing Miramar will accept this news with both a cold shoulder and a heated temper.
On Nov. 7, San Diego County residents will vote on the proposed site of Miramar as a replacement for Lindbergh Field, which feels as though it has outgrown its home. We had better heed the words of Reston and get involved in letting the nine-member airport authority board know that University City is not a NIMBY town but one that supports our Marines first and foremost.
A joint-use commercial and military airport is out of the question. According to Rob Davis of Voice of San Diego, “Standing alongside an FA-18 Hornet outside an ordnance-loading area Lt. Col. Duane Pinney, Miramar’s safety officer, criticized the airport authority for ignoring the Marines’ safety rules. They prohibit locating ordnance storage within 15,000 feet of a runway. The authority’s proposal would violate this rule, Pinney said, forcing jets to fly over bomb and missile storage areas. The authority’s proposal would also require jets loaded with live ammunition to taxi much longer distances, past a passenger tower and jet fuel storage area, Pinney said, adding, ‘Any of their proposals just flat won’t work when it comes to ordnance’.”
Where are our local leaders in this debacle? Councilman Scott Peters is opposed to this move to share Miramar with a commercial airport. In a letter sent to his constituents, he writes: “The operation of a commercial airport is inconsistent with the residential uses in University City, Scripps Ranch and other neighboring communities. “At one point, decades ago, Miramar could have made a great airport. However, that window has closed, and I believe that commercial airport operations at Miramar are unwise.”
UC residents look forward to Councilman Peters getting this message out to the public soon. Perhaps he can influence Councilman Tony Young of the 4th district who supports Miramar as a joint-use-airport. Perhaps Mayor Sanders and Supervisor Roberts and Congresswoman Davis will take a stand in support of their constituents who ring Miramar.
The bottom line is that apathetic citizens need to wake up and do the work themselves. A University Community Planning Group meeting on the Miramar topic is being planned for July 13 in UC. More information will follow. Semper Fi.
Sandra Lippe, a former high school teacher with a master’s degree in creative writing, was born and raised in Connecticut. She is a 33-year resident of University City with husband Ernie. They have two children and two wonderful grandchildren.