EDITORIAL WHO'S KIDDING WHO? DO-NOTHING MAYOR TRIES TO HIDE HIS FAILED AIR-TRAFFIC PLAN WITH CHEAP STUNT.

MAYOR James Hahn mustered what little passion he has for public policy with a last-minute grandstand ploy to try to scuttle the long-planned sale of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Orange County for use as parkland and commercial development.

After a decade of vigorous public debate, Orange County residents flatly rejected using El Toro as a commercial airport so the Navy and Transportation Department moved forward with the sale of the property.

On Tuesday, 24 hours before the sale, Hahn awakened from his Rip Van Winkle slumber. Without forethought, he suddenly called on the federal government to halt the sale and turn El Toro into a regional airport serving 30 million passengers a year.

Who does Hahn think he's kidding?

The city has spent well over $100 million developing and selling its $1l billion effort to expand and modernize Los Angeles International Airport without developing an effective regional aviation plan that would share the burdens of traffic congestion and pollution.

Hahn never took any meaningful steps in this regard and never entered into discussions with Orange County or other officials in the region about finding a solution that served the public and each community's interests.

In fact, when he staged his little play Tuesday, he didn't even have the courtesy of contacting any of the officials who actually have a say in the issue.

Consequently, federal officials shot down his request without a moment's hesitation as if they knew full well the mayor was just fooling around.

Orange County officials were not amused by the joke. They suggested that the stunt had everything to do with Hahn's re-election campaign, which is haunted by the ``pay-to-play'' scandal and grand jury investigations and his need to show that he really wants a regional air traffic solution rather than just rewarding the unions and contractors with an $11 billion payday.

As usual the mayor was unashamed at being accused of the worst sort of political pandering, worrying out loud about how the residents of Orange county will ``kick themselves 20 years from now and say, Why didn't we preserve this as an airport?''

So, who does Hahn think he's kidding?