Last night, I attended a cocktail reception held at Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza to support the fight against the ballot initiative (Proposition A) for a commercial airport at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The reception was joined by California Assembly Republican Leader George Plescia, and San Diego City Councilmembers Jim Madaffer and Brian Maienschein.

Towards the end of the reception, the councilmembers were introduced by retired Rear Admiral Bruce Boland of the United States Navy. Bruce is a director of the San Diego Military Advisory Council, a cofounder of the NO on Prop A Committee, and the former president and chief executive officer of United Way of San Diego County.

Councilmember Jim Madaffer spoke fiercely on the issue. I learned from his remarks that the reconstruction efforts on Interstate 15 are worth a billion dollars, seven bridges are being destroyed, and the project is expected to be completed by 2008. The San Diego Airport Authority wants to move I-15 to solve the major traffic problems that would be caused by moving Lindbergh Field to MCAS Miramar. This would cost a billion dollars more, which Jim described as “ridiculous”.