San Bernardino police tax passes

A San Bernardino ballot measure to pay for more police officers on city streets passed by a wide margin on Tuesday, but a hard-fought Assembly race in the desert remained too close to call.

The sales tax approved by San Bernardino voters will allow the Police Department to boost its ranks by 40 officers over three years.

The city of 200,000 has long wrestled with gang violence and high crime rates, recording 45 homicides this year.

The proposed quarter-cent-on-the-dollar tax increase will generate around $5 million annually.

Mayor Pat Morris, a former judge who made law and order a priority in his campaign earlier this year, said the funds would make the city safer and aid other social services, including after-school and youth programs.

“It was an overwhelmingly supportive vote for public safety,” Morris said on election night.

“I’m remarkably proud of our voters for stepping to the plate and doing the right thing for themselves. They are determined to make the streets safe for their children, families and businesses.”

In the 80th Assembly District, which includes the Coachella Valley and Imperial County, incumbent Republican Bonnie Garcia was trying to hold on for a third term against former Democratic Assemblyman Steve Clute.

The race was viewed as one of the state’s few competitive contests, and Garcia was holding a lead in early returns.

Garcia won points with conservative voters in September when she graciously dismissed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s musings about her “hot” Latina temperament -- remarks for which he later apologized.

But her own comments landed her in political hot water last month when she answered a casual question from La Quinta High School seniors by saying she wouldn’t kick the governor out of her bed.

Political observers said the racy remark may have put her reelection in jeopardy.

Democrats eager to recapture the seat from Garcia, who has twice won despite the district’s Democratic majority, have flooded Clute’s campaign with last-minute cash.

In the 45th Congressional District, which includes the Palm Springs area, Democratic challenger David Malcolm Roth was trailing far behind in his bid to unseat Republican incumbent Mary Bono, wife of the late Rep. Sonny Bono.

Roth had lagged far behind in fundraising but hoped to capitalize on hard political times for Republicans across the country.

Also in San Bernardino, anti-immigration activist Joseph Turner lost his bid for a spot on the school board. Turner made national headlines this year when he pushed for passage of a broad proposal banning illegal immigrants from renting apartments in San Bernardino -- a city whose population is half Latino.

Also in San Bernardino County, voters approved a measure to increase the pay but limit the terms of county supervisors, Under Measure P, supervisors will be limited to three consecutive four-year terms, and their salaries will gradually increase to match those of supervisors in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties.

And a testy county assessor’s race, featuring incumbent Donald E. Williamson and Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus, the supervisor squeaked out a victory late Tuesday.

In the June primary, Postmus mailed fliers detailing a sexual-harassment claim the county settled on behalf of Williamson. Williamson unsuccessfully sued Postmus over his campaign signs.

Postmus received the most votes in the primary but failed to win the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. He outspent Williamson more than 10 to 1.

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sara.lin@latimes.com

jonathan.abrams@latimes.com