Crushing Defeat of Road Tax Shocks Even Foes : Santa Clarita Valley: Distrust of developers and county government is blamed in part for the voters’ rejection of the $285-million measure.

Opponents and supporters of Measure P, the failed road-tax initiative in the Santa Clarita Valley, both said Wednesday that they were stunned by the lopsided defeat of the $285-million measure, attributing its demise to distrust of developers, discontent with city and county government and the public’s general dislike of taxes.

Measure P needed a two-thirds majority to pass but failed to win even one-third of the vote Tuesday. Almost 80% of those voting cast 15,714 ballots against the measure, which won only 4,000 votes, or 20.3%.

“I was a little shocked,” said John Machin, a Valencia resident who helped spearhead a group of opponents known as SMRT, for Stop Mello-Roos Tax. The group expected to win, he said, but thought the margin of victory would be narrower, perhaps 55% to 45%.

Mark Thompson, a political consultant hired by the pro-tax Roads Now Committee, said he knew that Measure P, like any proposed tax, faced an uphill battle. And in Santa Clarita, where there are 31,000 registered Republicans and 18,000 registered Democrats, a tax is particularly difficult to pass, he said. But Thompson said even he was surprised by the overwhelming defeat of Measure P.

The tax would have added between $75 and $200 to homeowners’ annual property tax bills in Santa Clarita and the surrounding unincorporated areas. The money would have been administered by a joint-powers agency composed of Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County officials.

Thompson said SMRT effectively played on the valley’s dislike of the county, which is often blamed for the region’s rapid growth. “They hate the county,” he said.

Many voters opposed the tax because the pro-Measure P campaign was underwritten by developers, Machin said. Campaign disclosure reports showed that the Roads Now Committee raised more than $86,000, with three donations of $10,000 each coming from contractors and a builder.

Conversely, SMRT raised only $1,900. The group was composed of about 150 inexperienced but effective volunteers who walked precincts, spoke to community groups and telephoned voters. SMRT even entered an anti-tax float in a local parade.

Kenneth Dean, another SMRT member, said many voters opposing Measure P felt betrayed by Santa Clarita City Council members, who had pledged before incorporation two years ago that cityhood would not lead to new taxes.

The council did not endorse Measure P but, with the Board of Supervisors, agreed to place it on the ballot. That procedure, which involved election filing fees and extensive legal work, could cost up to $100,000, said Lou Garasi, head of the Roads Now Committee. Those expenses, which would have been covered by the tax had Measure P passed, will be split by the city and county.

The election was watched closely by five valley school districts, which plan public opinion surveys to determine whether voters would support a tax to build schools. Superintendent Clyde Smyth of the William S. Hart Union High School District said it is too soon to say how a school tax might fare, but he said the resounding defeat of Measure P “does not bode well” for other tax measures.