Voters in four Southern California counties on Tuesday chose among scores of candidates for local offices and weighed in on a range of tax measures and other proposals, while voters in a Northern California congressional district picked a Democratic political veteran to fill a vacancy.
In the special election for the Bay Area's 10th Congressional District, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi soundly defeated Republican businessman David Harmer and three minor-party candidates to succeed Ellen Tauscher. Tauscher had resigned to join the Obama administration.
Garamendi collected almost 53% of the vote, while Harmer followed with nearly 43%. Complete unofficial returns can be found at www.sos.ca.gov/elect-results. The governor now must appoint a replacement for Garamendi.
"Today, the voters have spoken; they still have hope and still want change," Garamendi told a crowd of supporters soon after taking a commanding lead in early returns.
"I will hit the ground running in Congress and look forward to casting a vote for comprehensive health care reform that includes the public option, helping to enact President Obama's vision for America," Garamendi said.
Locally, voters delivered mixed verdicts on a host of tax measures sought by recession-pinched cities and school districts:
Voters in the Culver City Unified School District approved a parcel tax of $96 a year for five years to help stave off cuts in educational programs. But similar measures for the Long Beach Unified ($92 a year for five years) and the Oxnard ($99 a year for four years) school districts fell far short of the two-thirds needed for passage.
* Hotel tax measures passed in Banning and Norco and one was leading in Blythe, but others narrowly failed in Artesia (where voters also rejected a proposed business license tax increase) and Rancho Palos Verdes.
* South Pasadena voters soundly approved, 80% to 20%, an extension of the city's library tax.
* Voters turned down, 44% to 56%, a half-cent hike in the sales tax for the city of Ventura. The proposed tax increase, which would have lasted four years, was to help pay for police, roads and libraries.
* Several cities successfully sought voters' permission to update and retain their utility-users or communications taxes, including Coachella, Huntington Park, Palm Springs, Pico Rivera and Pomona.
* Redondo Beach voters rejected a proposal to end a utility users' tax exemption for a corporation-owned electricity-generating plant, despite city claims that the measure would raise money for municipal services without affecting residents' utility taxes.
Voters in Palmdale were granting permission, early returns showed, for the city to adopt a charter, instead of continuing to use municipal rules spelled out by the state. City officials said the charter would help improve the town's financial prospects, in part by giving officials more flexibility in contracting for projects and services.
Quality of life issues also appeared on some local ballots.
In several small unincorporated Los Angeles County communities in the Santa Clarita Valley, voters made it clear they would not like to form a new city (Advisory Measure B, rejected 22% to 78%). But voters in these communities, including Sunset Pointe, Stevenson Ranch, Southern Oaks, Westridge, Tesoro, Castaic and Val Verde, delivered seemingly mixed messages in two other advisory measures. They approved both Advisory Measure A, to remain unaffiliated with any city, 56% to 44%, and Advisory Measure C, to join the city of Santa Clarita, 53% to 47%.
Voters in the city of Ventura turned a heavy thumbs down on a hard-fought measure to ban construction of any building taller than 26 feet for up to two years in the city's historic downtown area.
The proposal, known as Measure B, was backed by Ventura Citizens Organized for Responsible Development, which was concerned that development is destroying coastal and hillside views in downtown and midtown neighborhoods. Critics said the measure was overly complicated, unneeded and would stall economic growth. It failed 25% to 75%.
Complete local results can be found on each county's elections website:
Los Angeles County -- www.lavote.net
Riverside County -- www.voteinfo.net
San Bernardino County -- www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/ROV
Ventura County -- http://recorder.countyofventura.org/elections.htm
jean.merl@latimes.com
In the special election for the Bay Area's 10th Congressional District, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi soundly defeated Republican businessman David Harmer and three minor-party candidates to succeed Ellen Tauscher. Tauscher had resigned to join the Obama administration.
Garamendi collected almost 53% of the vote, while Harmer followed with nearly 43%. Complete unofficial returns can be found at www.sos.ca.gov/elect-results. The governor now must appoint a replacement for Garamendi.
"Today, the voters have spoken; they still have hope and still want change," Garamendi told a crowd of supporters soon after taking a commanding lead in early returns.
"I will hit the ground running in Congress and look forward to casting a vote for comprehensive health care reform that includes the public option, helping to enact President Obama's vision for America," Garamendi said.
Locally, voters delivered mixed verdicts on a host of tax measures sought by recession-pinched cities and school districts:
Voters in the Culver City Unified School District approved a parcel tax of $96 a year for five years to help stave off cuts in educational programs. But similar measures for the Long Beach Unified ($92 a year for five years) and the Oxnard ($99 a year for four years) school districts fell far short of the two-thirds needed for passage.
* Hotel tax measures passed in Banning and Norco and one was leading in Blythe, but others narrowly failed in Artesia (where voters also rejected a proposed business license tax increase) and Rancho Palos Verdes.
* South Pasadena voters soundly approved, 80% to 20%, an extension of the city's library tax.
* Voters turned down, 44% to 56%, a half-cent hike in the sales tax for the city of Ventura. The proposed tax increase, which would have lasted four years, was to help pay for police, roads and libraries.
* Several cities successfully sought voters' permission to update and retain their utility-users or communications taxes, including Coachella, Huntington Park, Palm Springs, Pico Rivera and Pomona.
* Redondo Beach voters rejected a proposal to end a utility users' tax exemption for a corporation-owned electricity-generating plant, despite city claims that the measure would raise money for municipal services without affecting residents' utility taxes.
Voters in Palmdale were granting permission, early returns showed, for the city to adopt a charter, instead of continuing to use municipal rules spelled out by the state. City officials said the charter would help improve the town's financial prospects, in part by giving officials more flexibility in contracting for projects and services.
Quality of life issues also appeared on some local ballots.
In several small unincorporated Los Angeles County communities in the Santa Clarita Valley, voters made it clear they would not like to form a new city (Advisory Measure B, rejected 22% to 78%). But voters in these communities, including Sunset Pointe, Stevenson Ranch, Southern Oaks, Westridge, Tesoro, Castaic and Val Verde, delivered seemingly mixed messages in two other advisory measures. They approved both Advisory Measure A, to remain unaffiliated with any city, 56% to 44%, and Advisory Measure C, to join the city of Santa Clarita, 53% to 47%.
Voters in the city of Ventura turned a heavy thumbs down on a hard-fought measure to ban construction of any building taller than 26 feet for up to two years in the city's historic downtown area.
The proposal, known as Measure B, was backed by Ventura Citizens Organized for Responsible Development, which was concerned that development is destroying coastal and hillside views in downtown and midtown neighborhoods. Critics said the measure was overly complicated, unneeded and would stall economic growth. It failed 25% to 75%.
Complete local results can be found on each county's elections website:
Los Angeles County -- www.lavote.net
Riverside County -- www.voteinfo.net
San Bernardino County -- www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/ROV
Ventura County -- http://recorder.countyofventura.org/elections.htm
jean.merl@latimes.com
