Super Tuesday was super for taxes

Super Tuesday turned out to be super-successful for local tax measures.

In communities throughout the state, voters embraced telephone taxes, school bond measures and parcel taxes.

Southern California's politicians and civic leaders now are talking about replicating that success by putting more levies on the general election ballot in November, when voter turnout is expected again to be high, particularly among Democrats.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn wants a $30-million tax for anti-gang programs. Smaller suburbs are weighing their own telephone tax measures. And transit advocates across Los Angeles County are using Tuesday's results to push for a sales tax that would fund freeway projects, light-rail lines and a subway to the sea.

Politicians would be wise to notice not only the high turnout numbers, but the increased participation by younger voters -- the type willing to pay extra for more transit, said Denny Zane, executive director of Move L.A, a group that favors a tax to help pay for a subway.

"They're not afraid of the T-word," Zane said. "That's who we're going to see at the polls in November, and we should take advantage of that."

For supporters of taxes, the election night numbers make the case: Voters in Los Angeles went nearly 2 to 1 on Tuesday for Proposition S, a $243-million telephone tax. Voters in Long Beach favored a $440-million community college bond measure by almost 3 to 1. And voters in Huntington Park backed a telephone tax by a margin of nearly 4 to 1, with 79% of the electorate favoring the measure.

Preliminary numbers for Los Angeles County put turnout at 46%, compared with 37% in the presidential primary four years ago. And tax measures in other parts of the state also made a strong showing.

Seven of seven California cities passed general taxes, the kind that needed a majority vote, according to the League of California Cities. Thirty of 38 approved school bond measures, which needed 55%. And five of six education taxes, the kind that need a two-thirds super-majority vote, prevailed.

Tuesday's election results were being closely watched by Redondo Beach officials, who are considering a telephone tax for the November or March 2009 ballot. And other cities are growing confident enough to rewrite their telephone taxes and send them to the electorate.

"There is a growing confidence that it can be done this way," said Michael Coleman, a League of Cities fiscal policy advisor.