According to the latest election tally from the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office, Measure A captured 37,075 votes, or 59.5 percent, and Measure B won 35,399 or 57.37 percent. Each measure needs only 50 percent plus one vote to pass.
“It’s a huge win for the city of Long Beach,” Garcia said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon, “and it’s a huge win, I think, for everybody, for all the neighborhoods.”
Garcia had thrown his support behind both measures in order to make a dent in the infrastructure costs in Long Beach— which have been estimated to be $2.8 billion over the next 10 years. The new tax revenue is expected to raise an additional $48 million every year and will pay for infrastructure costs, 9-1-1 services and police and fire staffing, according to the ballot measure.
Measure A is better known on the ballot as the Transactions-and-Use-Tax measure. The ballot language specifies that the tax increase will only last for 10 years. When the measure becomes effective, the tax will be raised by 1 percent for the first six years then drop to one-half of a percent for the next four years. Currently, LA County’s sales-tax rate is 9 percent. If the sales-tax rates don’t change, shoppers in Long Beach will be paying 10 percent at the beginning of the new year.
Measure B, which establishes a rainy-day fund, is linked to Measure A. The first 1 percent of new tax revenue would be set aside in that fund to maintain city services and to balance the budget.
Long Beach Deputy City Manager Tom Modica said in a statement to the Signal Tribune that the sales tax is anticipated to take effect on Jan. 1, 2017.
The counties acknowledged that their offices will continue the canvassing process, which involves tallying thousands of provisional and eligible vote-by mail ballots.
The mayor’s campaign to turn out support for the polls was well funded. Finance reports for the calendar year to date available through May 26 show that the campaign raised $418,191.67 and spent $555,794.23. More late-contribution reports for thousands of dollars have been submitted since May 26. Since City Clerk Maria de la Luz Garcia said Wednesday that there are additional campaign-finance reports that still need to be processed and posted on the department site, the Signal Tribune could not confirm the exact amount of donations raised by the campaign in support of the measures by press time.
Garcia’s critics, three groups that adamantly opposed both measures, blasted the mayor for the amount of spending. One campaign against the sales-tax measure known as “No on Measure A— Stop the Tax on Long Beach Working Families” vowed to continue to protest City Hall and reorganize.
In a statement sent to the Signal Tribune, it announced it will take on the new name “Long Beach Reform,” and it continued to blast the mayor.
“As the only registered opposition campaign,” the statement reads,” we not only made the mayor’s ‘yes on A & B’ committees work much harder than expected and expend massive resources in order to maintain their broad effort to mislead voters, we also sent a strong message that Long Beach elected officials cannot act with total impunity, can only make back-room deals with big-moneyed interests at their own potential political peril, and, specifically with regard to Measure A revenue, must carry with them the knowledge that their actions are being watched and they will be held accountable for bringing the lie to any and all promises, whether explicit or just strongly implied, made during this campaign.”
Garcia defended the efforts to promote the measures.
“From day one, I was in this campaign to win,” he said, “and if you are going to win a big campaign in Long Beach, you have to raise a lot of money.”
The mayor also clarified his next steps. Later this year, he will be presenting a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Back in May, City Manager Pat West had submitted a priority list of infrastructure projects totaling $150 million over the next three to four years. Garcia said he will also present in the fall budget a $4-million cost toward public-safety staffing, which includes the restoration of a fourth police division and about 10 to 12 police officer positions.
Other races to note
In light of the thousands of provisional and mail ballots that are left to be counted by the county offices, the following totals only reflect the available tallies through Wednesday, June 8.
Measure LB
Long Beach Community College’s Measure LB also emerged with an apparent victory. Voters passed the school-improvement bond measure with 45,225 votes, or 63.48 percent. This measure only needed 55 percent of the votes to pass.
2nd District Councilmember
The race for a council seat for the 2nd District may be too close to call. Jeannine Pearce won 3,557 votes, or 50.96 percent. Opponent Eric Gray captured 3,423 votes, or 49.04 percent.
LA County Board of Supervisors, 4th District
According to the latest tally, Janice Hahn did not win the 50 percent plus one vote needed to outright claim the seat for the 4th District of the LA County Board of Supervisors. Hahn only won 121,228 votes, or 47.3 percent. Steve Napolitano finished a distant second with 94,709 votes, or 36.95 percent. Ralph Pacheco finished with only 40,356 votes, or 15.75 percent. Hahn will likely face Napolitano in a November run-off.
U.S. Representative, 44th District
There were 10 contenders for the 44th District. Democrat Isadore Hall finished with 30,219 votes, or 41.46 percent. Fellow Democrat Nanette Diaz Barragan finished in second place with 15,737 votes, or 21.59 percent. Armando Sotomayor, Sylvia Ortiz, Martha Delgadillo, Ronald Siegel, Christopher Castillo, Morris Griffin, Marcus Musante and Michael De Mauricio fell far behind the top two contenders. (See graph for their totals.)
U.S. Representative, 47th District
Since the 47th District is divided between LA and Orange County, each candidate’s performance has been recorded by county. (See graph.) Incumbent Democrat Alan Lowenthal won 42,204 votes, or 71.61 percent, in LA County and 21,560 votes, or 56.80 percent, in Orange County.
Republican Andy Whallon finished with 10,007 votes, or 16.98 percent, in LA County and 11,444 votes, or 30.2 percent, in Orange County. Republican Sanford Kahn finished third with 6,728 votes, or 11.42 percent, in LA County and 4,945 votes, or 13 percent, in Orange County.
State Assemblymember, 63rd District
Democrat Anthony Rendon finished with 32,700 votes, or 77.83 percent. Republican Adam Joshua Miller finished second with 9,317 votes, or 22.17 percent.
State Assemblymember, 70th District
Democrat incumbent Patrick O’Donnell was unopposed and won 48,488 votes, or 100 percent.
State Senator, 33rd District
Democrat Ricardo Lara was unopposed for his seat and won 72,151 votes or 100 percent.
State Senator, 35th District
Democrat Steven Bradford won 37,712 votes, or 36.35 percent. Fellow Democrat Warren Furutani claimed second place with 24,744 votes, or 23.85 percent. Democrat Isaac Galvan finished third with 23,228 votes, or 22.39 percent. Republican Charlotte Ann Svolos finished last with 18,061 votes, or 17.41 percent.
For the races for congressional seats, state senate and state assembly, the top two candidates finishing in this primary will advance to a run-off election in November.
