Education Beats Big-Money Campaign

Mission Viejo resident Bob Knoke attended the Feb. 6 Coastal Commission hearing at Del Mar. He wrote a brief report about attending the historic meeting in which the Commission rejected the proposed 241 extension:

Three-thousand-plus people attended the meeting in Del Mar, and most were against completing the toll road extension. The meeting started at 9:00 a.m., but the public did not get to speak until after dinner, which was at 7:15 p.m. The Commission voted at about 11:45 p.m.

It was way too long a day, but in the end we won 8 to 2. It was nice seeing lots of
young people voicing their views.

What I learned was the same lesson from the El Toro airport issue. Educate the people on the facts, and you can beat the big-money special interest.