County Is Pro-Wilson, Anti-Taxes : Local politics: A comparison of statewide and area tallies shows residents to be conservative and reluctant to loosen their purse strings.

Ventura County likes its politics conservative and its taxes low, voters said again Tuesday in strongly backing Gov.-elect Pete Wilson and rejecting billion-dollar bond measures by margins wider than the state as a whole.

The county’s growing environmental movement, its traditional support of law enforcement and its sponsorship of schools all were secondary Tuesday to voters’ concerns about taxes, election results show.

Of the 19 propositions on the statewide ballot that included new taxes or required substantial public money, only a single measure, which provides home and farm aid for war veterans, was supported by Ventura County voters.

A local sales tax increase to pay for new highway projects countywide also was defeated 2 to 1 in an election in which about 60% of the county’s registered voters turned out.

“We’re a Republican county,” Ruth P. Schepler, county elections chief, said Wednesday. “Voters take a conservative approach when it comes to taxes and spending money.”

Moreover, county voters strongly supported two measures to reform state government. One to limit the terms of legislators and cut the size of their staffs easily passed here, while a measure revamping the process that allowed 28 propositions on the ballot was narrowly defeated.

Indicative of the county’s conservative bent in the statewide races was Wilson’s 20% win over Dianne Feinstein, compared to his narrow victory throughout California.

In a virtual dead heat for state attorney general, county voters also supported conservative Republican Dan Lungren, 54% to 38%, over Arlo Smith. And another Republican, Thomas W. Hayes, was preferred by local voters by 10 percentage points over Kathleen Brown in a treasurer’s race that Brown won handily.

Whether environment, crime or education, county voters took a stronger stand against new taxes than the rest of the state, returns show.

Though preservation of the county’s rural environment has become a major local issue in the last year, voters rejected Proposition 128, the so-called “Big Green” initiative, and a measure to save the state’s remaining redwood forests by wider margins than California as a whole.

“I would not read this as a loss of momentum in the environmental movement in California or Ventura County,” said Kevin Sweeney, spokesman for Patagonia Inc., a Ventura-based company that supports environmental groups and candidates locally.

“I think it’s a broader statement,” Sweeney said. “There’s just a real disillusionment with California politics in general. And when you got to the bottom of the ballot yesterday and added it all up, very reasonable people could conclude it was just too damned much money.”

Tuesday’s election revealed a contradiction county law enforcement officials have wrestled with for many years.

Though law-and-order candidates generally do well in low-crime areas such as Ventura County, bonds to build new prisons were defeated more soundly here than elsewhere, and two initiatives that would have provided millions of dollars for anti-drug programs also were trounced.

“I haven’t been able to figure it out,” Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury said. “We’ve talked in the past about putting on a local measure for additional funding for law enforcement, but we concluded that it would be a waste of time. Voters here are not going to shell out any more money for the resources we need.”

The county did vote to put prison inmates to work--58% of its voters approved the measure compared to 53% statewide.

Money for schools fared no better. County voters rejected an $800-million bond issue to build or improve schools, though the proposition passed. They also helped defeat a building program for public universities.

Ken Prosser, financial analyst for the office of the county superintendent of schools, said funding requests by local districts have had mixed results. A bond measure that would have provided funds for school construction in the Moorpark Unified School District lost Tuesday, but large measures for new schools in the Oxnard elementary and Simi Valley districts have passed since 1988.

About $2.4 billion for school construction also has been approved by voters statewide in three recent elections, he said. “But a lot depends on timing, and I think people were tired of taxes. It was kind of a tax rebellion.”

The results also emphasized the political differences between the politics of the coastal west county and the inland east county. For example, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley were Wilson and Lungren strongholds while both were clear losers in Oxnard. Wilson was a narrow winner in Ventura, where Lungren lost.

Voters throughout the county were strongly against the new tax measures, even those touted as cures for environmental problems.

HOW VENTURA COUNTY VOTED GOVERNOR 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Pete Wilson (R): 96,610 (57) Dianne Feinstein (D): 63,107 (37) Dennis Thompson (L): 3,627 (2) Jerome McCready (A): 3,474 (2) Maria E. Munoz (P): 2,247 (1) LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Marian Bergeson (R): 82,478 (50) Leo T. McCarthy* (D): 72,325 (43) Anthony G. Bajada (L): 5,175 (3) Clyde Kuhn (P): 3,272 (2) Merton D. Short (A): 3,220 (2) SECRETARY OF STATE 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Joan Milke Flores (R): 83,471 (51) March Fong Eu* (D): 67,521 (41) Kennita Watson (L): 5,736 (4) Theodore J. Nicholoff (A): 5,363 (3) Evelina Alarcon (P): 3,087 (2) CONTROLLER 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Gray Davis* (D): 81,594 (50) Matt Fong (R): 68,331 (42) Thomas Tryon (L): 6,602 (4) Richard D. Rose (P): 3,148 (2) Edmon V. Kaiser (A): 2,564 (2) TREASURER 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Thomas Hayes* (R): 84,016 (52) Kathleen Brown (D): 67,640 (42) Paul Meeuwenberg (A): 5,593 (4) Elizabeth A. Nakano (P): 4,416 (3) ATTORNEY GENERAL 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Dan Lungren (R): 86,107 (54) Arlo Smith (D): 61,007 (38) Paul N. Gautreau (L): 6,666 (4) Robert J. Evans (P): 5,670 (4) INSURANCE COMMISSIONER 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) John Garamendi (D): 77,879 (49) Wes Bannister (R): 67,412 (42) Ted Brown (L): 9,938 (6) Tom Condit (P): 5,183 (3) PROPOSITIONS 100% Precincts Reporting: votes (%) 124--LOCAL HOSPITAL DISTRICTS Yes: 66,371 (42%) No: 90,553 (58%) 125--FUELS TAX, RAIL FUNDING Yes: 63,624 (40%) NO: 94,761 (60%) 126--ALCOHOL TAXES Yes: 63,782 (39%) No: 98,889 (61%) 127--EARTHQUAKE SAFETY Yes: 94,633 (59%) No: 64,678 (41%) 128--BIG GREEN/HAYDEN ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE Yes: 52,626 (32%) No: 112,589 (68%) 129--CRIME REDUCTION AND DRUG CONTROL Yes: 40,575 (25%) No: 121,883 (75%) 130--FOREST ACQUISITION, “FORESTS FOREVER” Yes: 75,571 (46%) No: 89,232 (54%) 131--TERM LIMITS, CAMPAIGN FINANCING Yes: 59,460 (37%) No: 102,662 (63%) 132--MARINE RESOURCES Yes: 90,718 (57%) No: 69,894 (44%) 133--DRUG ENFORCEMENT AND PREVENTION Yes: 52,816 (33%) No: 108,065 (67%) 134--ALCOHOL SURTAX, “NICKEL A DRINK” Yes: 49,884 (30%) No: 114,048 (70%) 135--PESTICIDE REGULATION Yes: 54,805 (34%) No: 105,310 (66%) 136--STATE, LOCAL TAXATION Yes: 84,705 (53%) No: 76,654 (48%) 137--INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM PROCESS Yes: 77,842 (49%) No: 80,639 (51%) 138--TIMBER HARVESTING Yes: 49,386 (30%) No: 114,130 (70%) 139--PRISON INMATE LABOR Yes: 93,375 (58%) No: 67,255 (42%) 140--TERMS OF OFFICE. LEGISLATORS RETIREMENT. LEGISLATIVE OPERATING COSTS Yes: 87,352 (54%) No: 73,482 (46%) 141--TOXIC CHEMICALS DISCHARGE Yes: 72,168 (47%) No: 82,360 (53%) 142--VETERANS’ BONDS Yes: 90,050 (57%) No: 68,999 (43%) 143--HIGHER EDUCATION BONDS Yes: 69,961 (44%) No: 88,436 (56%) 144--NEW PRISON CONSTRUCTION BONDS Yes: 63,820 (40%) No: 94,652 (60%) 145--HOUSING BONDS Yes: 65,632 (42%) No: 91,742 (58%) 146--SCHOOL BONDS Yes: 74,638 (47%) No: 83,503 (53%) 147--COUNTY JAIL BONDS Yes: 54,652 (35%) No: 101,502 (65%) 148--WATER BONDS Yes: 62,060 (39%) No: 95,267 (61%) 149--PARK, RECREATION AND WILDLIFE BONDS Yes: 66,399 (42%) No: 92,515 (58%) 150--COUNTY COURTHOUSE BONDS Yes: 31,866 (20%) No: 124,954 (80%) 151--CHILD CARE CENTER BONDS Yes: 68,886 (43%) No: 90,191 (57%)

*Returns in the “How Ventura County Voted” columns represent vote totals from Ventura County only.

Additional Ventura County election returns: Home Edition, Pages A30, A31.