Encinitas and Imperial Beach Kill Measures : Elections: Voters defeated a bond issue to acquire parkland in North County and a tax increase to help the ailing South Bay city. Ramona and Vista bond issues also lost.

Four San Diego County communities showed a tight-fisted resolve Tuesday night by turning down all fund-raising measures on the ballot.

In Encinitas, voters defeated a $25-million bond measure to acquire 150 acres of parkland designed to provide residents of the North County city with more places to play softball and have picnics.

“My cup runneth over,” said Walt Wallace, co-chairman of Citizens for No New Taxes, which vigorously opposed the measure. “We were confident. I bet a friend today that there would be two ‘nos’ to every ‘yes’ on the thing. He only bet a dollar because he didn’t want to lose me as a friend.”

In Imperial Beach, voters overwhelmingly turned back a 5% utility tax measure that city officials had warned was critical to keep the South Bay city afloat.

Vista voters rejected a $38.8-million proposal to build new classrooms and rebuild others in the Vista Unified School District.

In Ramona, they defeated a $2.2-million bond measure to purchase electrical generators for the Ramona Municipal Water District.

Encinitas’ proposal was the first tax request to go before residents since the North County city incorporated three years ago.

Proponents of Proposition A, including the entire City Council and more than 2 dozen community groups had called the acquisition necessary to bring the 22-square-mile coastal community up to par with the standards set for a city of 53,000 people: at least 3.5 acres of open parkland for every 1,000 residents.

Detractors said that most voters were unclear on exactly how the city planned to spend the money and predicted that the measure would not receive the two-thirds voter approval needed for passage.

In Imperial Beach, city officials argued that Proposition B was critical to the South Bay city’s economic survival.

Mayor Henry Smith had warned that, without the tax, the city would not be able to pay its bills next year and might be forced to disincorporate.

Alfred Hughes, a former city councilman who opposed the measure, predicted that it would fail by a greater margin than any other bond being considered throughout the county.

“The mayor came up with this Chicken Little prediction of the city going under, and a lot of people seemed to believe him. But I can’t seem to find any voters who say they’ll back the measure,” he said.

In Vista, Proposition C was designed to finance several new schools for the sprawling Vista Unified School District and to repair several existing ones.

Although they acknowledged that there was no organized opposition to the bond measure, proponents had labeled the fate of Proposition C a tough call because, like the Encinitas measure, it faced the politically formidable obstacle of needing a two-thirds vote for approval.

In Ramona, Proposition F was intended to allow the Ramona Municipal Water District to install gas-turbine generators at the Poway Pump Station.

Proponents claimed that the generators would help curb electricity costs. Detractors, including water district staff members, said the same thing could be accomplished by building a diesel-powered generating plant.

The Poway Pump Station channels water from Lake Poway into the Ramona water system.

Vote Chart, A28