LOCAL ELECTIONS / BALLOT MEASURES : Voters Support Campaign Reform : The proposal to change the county’s campaign finance laws was favored by a 6 to 1 margin, but two city ballot measures appeared to draw far less support.

A sweeping reform of Orange County’s campaign finance laws was headed for overwhelming victory Tuesday, as voters voiced strong support for placing a first-ever cap on donations to county candidates.

However, two city ballot measures that asked voters to spend millions for local projects appeared to draw far less support. In Mission Viejo, voters were soundly rejecting construction of an $18-million city hall, while a proposal in Orange to spend up to $25 million to preserve open space was trailing slightly.

Measure T, the proposal to reform the county’s campaign finance laws for the first time since 1977, was favored by a 6 to 1 margin at the polls, with about a third of all precincts countywide reporting.

“I’m elated,” said activist Shirley Grindle, who heads a citizens’ group that drafted the measure. “This shows the voters are fed up with the political Establishment the way it’s been. . . . This is certainly going to hamper big money coming into campaigns.”

Measure T was the only countywide initiative before voters Tuesday. Placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors in January at the urging of community activists, it will impose sweeping reforms in campaign finance laws that regulate donations for candidates to county office.

The measure caps contributions for the first time at $1,000 from a single contributor during an election cycle, generally four years.

It was also designed to plug a loophole that has left political action committees largely unrestricted under existing regulations. And it expands finance laws to include such top county officials as sheriff and district attorney. Only the five county supervisors had been covered.

The proposal prompted virtually no public opposition.

In the city of Orange, controversy during the campaign season focused on Measure Y, a bond initiative to purchase 33 acres of land in central Orange and preserve it as open space and parkland.

Measure Y supporters asked voters to “Keep Orange Green” and help pay up to $25 million to buy the property along Santiago Creek between Hart Park and Tustin Avenue. A commercial zone and 240 townhomes have been proposed for the site.

But support for the open-space plan appeared to waver in recent weeks among some activists, who said the measure left unanswered questions about how much the land acquisition would cost city taxpayers.

The second ballot measure in Orange, Measure Z, drew less interest. It proposes switching the city treasurer from an elected to an appointed position. It was trailing by a 3-2 margin.

In Los Alamitos, Measure W asked voters to approve a commercial redevelopment plan, adopted by the City Council last year, in an area along Katella Avenue and Los Alamitos Boulevard. Measure X proposed blocking the city Redevelopment Agency from condemning private property.

With a third of the precincts reporting, Measure W was trailing badly, while Measure X appeared well ahead on its way to approval.

In Mission Viejo, Measure A, a proposal to build an $18-million city hall, near Crown Valley Parkway and Interstate 5, drew support from many city officials. But a local group called the Citizens Action Committee led the attack on the measure, calling the price too high. They have a counter-measure on the November ballot to require voter approval of any future city hall project.