Voters in four Southern California counties were giving a warm reception to an array of local tax measures Tuesday, preserving a handful of telephone utility taxes and giving the edge to half a dozen school construction bonds, according to early returns.
With voter turnout buoyed by the presidential primary campaign, the city of Los Angeles saw Proposition S, a $243-million telephone tax seen as the last defense against a faltering economy, winning by nearly 2 to 1, partial results showed. Three other cities in addition to Los Angeles had placed telephone taxes on the ballot in an attempt to make them invulnerable to a legal challenge.
Huntington Park residents overwhelmingly supported Measure B, a communications users tax that was seeing support from 4 out of 5 voters. And Measure D, a telephone tax in Pasadena that would generate $10 million annually, was passing by a large margin.
In other contests, voters reviewed a measure to restrict roosters in Riverside, a proposal for a new City Hall in Newport Beach and a trio of term-limit measures. Voters in southern Los Angeles County also chose Democrat Warren Furutani, a Los Angeles Community College District board member, to fill the 55th Assembly District seat left vacant by the election of Assemblywoman Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach) to Congress last year.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa thanked voters for supporting Proposition S but warned that the city faced dire financial straits even with the passage of the tax. But L.A. Police Chief William J. Bratton, who played a pivotal role in the campaign, said voters sent a message about the need to reduce crime and continue hiring police officers.
"This vote shows that Angelenos understand the strides we have made in public safety," said Bratton, who appeared in 15-second television spots and campaign mailers for Proposition S.
Villaraigosa raised $3 million for the measure, compared with $5,100 collected by foes of the tax, who relied primarily on free media. Proposition S opponent Walter Moore said deceptive ballot language, such as the decision to sell Proposition S as a tax cut, helped fuel the strong returns for the telephone tax.
"The proponents got away with it by fooling people who showed up for the presidential primary but don't really pay attention to local politics," he said.
While cities worked to keep their phone taxes on the books, three local school districts were seeing their school construction bond measures head to victory, early returns showed.
