Gas Tax OKd, Reiner KOd : In Major Shift, Calif. Votes First Revenue Hike in Years : L.A.’s D.A. Is Upset by S.F.’s in Atty. Gen. Race

Californians agreed to more than double their gasoline taxes in a dramatic reversal of the anti-tax philosophy that dominated the 1980s, final election results showed this morning.

The final tally also confirmed that Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner’s hopes for statewide office have been dashed as San Francisco Dist. Atty. Arlo Smith eked out a narrow victory in their often nasty battle for the Democratic nomination for state attorney general.

Former Rep. Daniel E. Lungren won the Republican nomination without opposition.

Former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein won an easy victory over Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp in Tuesday’s quest for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. The 11-percentage-point victory makes her the first woman to win a major party nomination for governor in California. Four other women won nomination for statewide office.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate, Sen. Pete Wilson, faced no organized opposition in Tuesday’s primary.

State Sen. John Garamendi defeated television commentator Bill Press in the race for the Democratic nomination for state insurance commissioner, which is an elective office for the first time this year. Huntington Beach insurance agent Wes Bannister won the battle for the Republican nomination.

In all, voters approved 15 of the 17 initiatives on Tuesday’s ballot. The only initiatives going down to defeat were two proposals that would have changed the way congressional and legislative districts are drawn by the Legislature every 10 years.

Approval of Proposition 111--the measure that will double the state’s gasoline tax to 18 cents a gallon and raise the constitutional spending limit in order to revitalize California’s overburdened transportation network, was not certain until early this morning, when late tallies showed that it had been approved by about 53% of the voters.

The initiative’s passage was especially welcome in Sacramento, where state leaders have been scrambling to close a projected gap of about $3.6 billion between tax revenues and spending.

In downtown Los Angeles, Caltrans workers demonstrated their gratitude with a large banner they draped across the front of their office building on Spring Street. It read: “Thank you, Calif.--it passed.”

“I think people in Washington are going to breathe a little easier,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior associate at the Claremont Graduate School’s Center for Politics and Policy. “Had Proposition 111 failed, the ‘T-word’ would have disappeared from the national agenda, and politicians would have ducked and run.”

Reached by telephone this morning, Reiner declined comment on his defeat. However, he indicated he will support Smith in the November race against Lungren.

Feinstein defeated Van de Kamp throughout the state, even in Los Angeles, Van de Kamp’s home field. Final returns showed she received 1,296,589 votes, or about 52% of those cast. Van de Kamp got 1,012,516, or 41%. The other 168,170 votes were split by minor candidates.

Exit polls indicated that a majority of her supporters had considered her strong stand in favor of abortion rights a critical issue in the campaign. Van de Kamp, although personally opposed to abortion, supported the right of women to make their own choice. Her stronger support of the death penalty also was deemed an important factor.

Celebrating her victory this morning, Feinstein called for Democratic unity and criticized Gov. George Deukmejian’s “caretaker government.” Her Democratic running mate will be the current lieutenant governor, Leo T. McCarthy, who ran unopposed.

Wilson, who got 88% of the Republican gubernatorial vote, will have state Sen. Marian Bergeson of Huntington Beach as his running mate for lieutenant governor. Bergeson got 55% of the vote, defeating state Sen. John Seymour of Anaheim.

The only woman losing a statewide race for a major party nomination on Tuesday was Angela (Bay) Buchanan, who lost the Republican nomination for state treasurer to incumbent Thomas W. Hayes.

Hayes will face Democrat Kathleen Brown, sister and daughter of two former California governors, in November. Brown defeated her opponent, Wesley Sanders Jr., by about a two-to-one margin.

Incumbent March Fong Eu won the Democratic nomination for secretary of state. She will face Republican Joan Milke Flores, a Los Angeles city councilwoman, in November.

Garamendi is considered the heavy favorite over Bannister in the November race for insurance commissioner. The office became elective due to the passage of Proposition 103 in 1988.