Close vote on transit sales-tax hike

The fate of a half-cent sales tax hike known as Measure R was too close to call in Los Angeles County Tuesday, despite a massive voter turnout providing a major boost to the ambitious transportation plan.

The road and rail construction measure, which is crucial to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s effort to build a Subway to the Sea, was just under the two-thirds vote needed for passage, according to partial returns.

Villaraigosa and an array of elected officials had been banking on high voter turnout to push the measure to victory. And the electorate delivered, with an estimated 82% of voters turning out -- more than in any previous election year, county election officials said.

The mayor voiced hope that by early today, the county’s remaining ballots would push Measure R over the top.

“I’ve said from the beginning that this was going to be a tough fight,” the mayor said. “Were it not for the recession, I believe there would be overwhelming support for this measure.”

Measure R faced a great deal of competition, with nearly three dozen other cities, school boards and community college districts placing their own tax measures on the ballot. Los Angeles, Long Beach and El Monte each had three tax measures on the ballot. And some smaller cities, such as Pico Rivera and El Monte, were pursuing their own sales tax hikes.

Tax proposals that needed less than two-thirds of the votes cast had an easier time. Measure Q, a $7-billion facilities bond issue backed by the Los Angeles Unified School District, was heading to an easy victory. Measure J, a $3.5-billion bond measure to rebuild and replace campus facilities in the Los Angeles Community College District, had an even stronger showing, according to partial results. Those measures needed only 55% to pass.

According to early returns, voters were narrowly rejecting Proposition A, the Los Angeles city tax hike to pay for anti-gang measures, which needed two-thirds to win approval.

City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who had pushed for Proposition A, said the measure had struggled to overcome the effect of a crumbling economy.

“We were asking a lot of people on this ballot -- new schools, new community college buildings, high-speed rail,” Hahn said. “I think voters had to pick and choose, because at this time, they couldn’t afford to pay for everything.”

Opponents of the proposed tax hikes had argued that local elected officials asked for too much in an economic downturn. Measure J was the college district’s third bond in seven years. Measure Q was L.A. Unified’s fifth in 11 years.

One taxpayer advocate said renters were the key to the strong showing of the two school bond measures, which increase taxes on property owners only.

“When they get into that polling place, they don’t have to worry about whether they can afford to pay for that fifth bond from the school district,” said Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn.

Measure R applies to any business or individual who spends money in the county.

Backers of the proposed transit tax said it would generate enough revenue to pay for 30 projects over 30 years. With Congress expected to approve a transportation bill to pay for road and mass transit projects, a victory for Measure R would make it easier to tap those funds, they said.

“This is the most important ballot measure in Los Angeles for the past 20 or 30 years,” Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) said earlier this week.

Measure R identified up to $4.1 billion for a westward extension of the Metro system’s Purple Line in Los Angeles. The existing subway was originally supposed to reach the Westside, but never made it there because of political opposition and a lack of funds.

The most vocal foes of Measure R were the politicians who represent outlying sections of the county, such as Long Beach, the east San Gabriel Valley and the high desert. They argued that too much of Measure R’s proceeds would be spent on Los Angeles, particularly the subway.

If Measure R fails, some elected officials who opposed the tax increase have said that they would consider another tax measure at a future date.

Complicating this year’s campaign was the downturn in the economy, which made it more difficult for politicians to raise money for their ballot measures. By September, even some political leaders were beginning to wonder aloud whether voters, terrified about their shrinking 401(k)s, would suddenly grow skittish about new taxes.

With unemployment rising and consumer confidence falling, those campaigns began to reshape their message to resonate in the new economic climate.

Los Angeles community college officials argued that Measure J would create new jobs in the field of environmentally friendly technologies. Villaraigosa appeared in mailers for Measure Q saying a school bond issue would revive the local economy. And Measure R backers said their sales tax hike would produce 210,000 jobs.

With campaign contributions tapering off, some local agencies dipped into taxpayer funds to promote their ballot measures.

The Metropolitan Transportation Agency spent $1.1 million on mailers, newspaper ads and radio commercials to inform voters of the half-cent transit tax.

L.A. Unified waged a $1-million taxpayer outreach campaign that included three sets of Measure Q mailers -- each sent to 450,000 likely voters -- and the distribution of Measure Q hats and T-shirts.

While taxes provided the most dominant theme on the local ballot, voters were also asked to weigh in on the hot-button issue of real estate development. In Beverly Hills, voters were passing Measure H, which would allow the Beverly Hilton to proceed with a $500-million expansion, according to early results.

The Hilton spent millions of dollars to woo voters, saying the project -- which would include a 12-story Waldorf-Astoria hotel and two luxury condo towers -- would generate revenue for the city and create traffic improvements at the busy corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards.

Opponents said the project was too big and accused the Hilton of trying to buy votes and using intimidation tactics.

Development was also an issue in Santa Monica, where a measure to put new limits on the construction of offices, hotels and stores was trailing, according to early returns.

Measure T would have capped new commercial development at 75,000 square feet a year, about half the current rate. The Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, the group behind the measure, said schools, hospitals, low-income housing and other vital community projects would be exempt.

The measure inspired a lively debate about how the coastal community -- a major regional shopping destination -- should approach land use and development. Developers, architects, hotel owners and land use attorneys poured in more than $700,000 to fight the initiative.

Voters were throwing their support behind Measure SM, which would reaffirm the city’s ability to tax cellphone use and text-messaging.

Meanwhile, a $295-million bond measure to fund facilities at Santa Monica College was narrowly ahead, according to early returns. Measure AA, which had endorsements from a broad coalition of city leaders, needed 55% to pass.

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Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.

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