Voter Turnout Is Mere 11% in Local Elections

The small fraction of registered voters who dribbled into the polls Tuesday passed a $40-million school bond measure in El Monte, resoundingly approved a move to preserve open space in Agoura Hills, and sent the most relentless critic of the Pasadena school district to a runoff election for a board seat.

Only 11% of registered voters went to the polls, casting ballots for special taxes and general city elections and races in water districts, community college boards and school boards.

Of four school bond measures on the ballots, three were defeated by just a few percentage points. At William S. Hart Union High School District in the affluent and growing Santa Clarita Valley, a $52-million bond was defeated by just over 1%.

But in threadbare El Monte, where some residents had contended that they simply could not afford more taxes, the bond measure was passed by a 3-1 margin with fewer than 4,000 people voting.

With such a low turnout, grass-roots campaigning dramatically affects the results, said Jeff Seymore, superintendent of El Monte City School District. Seymore said volunteers called every “high frequency” voter in the district to determine who would support the measure. Then on Tuesday, “we called every one of them two or three times, begging them to vote,” he said.

The $40 million from Measure K, matched by $20 million in state funds, will go to update 18 schools, the newest of which was built 35 years ago.

Needed improvements include replacing playground equipment that does not meet modern safety standards, providing modern portable buildings to reduce class size and fixing plumbing, leaky roofs and wiring that cannot properly accommodate computers.

Facing these problems, teachers and parents volunteered to publicize the bond measure, posting signs in front of schools, making phone calls, and speaking at local activist and social groups.

“There was no magic bullet, just people working really hard,’ Seymore said.

In conservative Arcadia, it was not a lack of pocket money, but political ideology that was an obstacle for supporters of an $8-million bond to build a police station. Regardless, by a nearly 4-1 margin, voters approved the city’s first municipal bond, dealing a blow to an anti-tax tradition.

“I think the citizens are comfortable with what is going on and recognize the need for a new station,” said Mayor Pro Tem Robert Harbicht. “We presented just the facts: The station’s 45 years old and we are moving into a new century. When the station was built an electric typewriter was a luxury. Now we’ve got computers in the police car.”

In cash-strapped Artesia, some city officials were hoping for a financial boost from a utility tax measure, which would have increased funds for public safety and infrastructure improvements. But Christmas did not come early for the city. Measure G was defeated 1,020 to 313.

Councilman Larry Nelson, who supported the measure, said it was thwarted by people who would rather see the city merge with its wealthier neighbor, Cerritos--an issue that is an undercurrent in most elections. He said the tax’s opponents wanted to see municipal funds dwindle to a point where more people would look to Cerritos for salvation.

“We have some tough times ahead of us, but we’re not going to roll over and die,” he said.

The tax group that opposed the measure did not answer phone calls made by The Times.

A reverse situation played out in Hermosa Beach, where a measure to get rid of the 6% utility tax was defeated.

In Agoura Hills, perched on the northern flank of the Santa Monica Mountains, the hot issue was land preservation. More than 90% of voters decided to strip the City Council of the power to rezone designated open space. Currently, land-designation decisions are made by the council with a majority of three votes. The present council unanimously endorsed the measure, saying that it was something residents long wanted in an area where 40% of land is still designated open space.

Meanwhile, in candidate races, voters as expected defeated two Claremont school board candidates who had associated with white supremacists in the past. Both Hale McGee and Richard Bunck each received under 4% of the vote. Incumbents Nat Lord and Joan W. Presecan were reelected.

A race for a seat on the Pasadena school board was more up in the air. Of five candidates, two will face each other in a runoff election in January. Rene Amy, a building contractor and district gadfly who was once labeled “PUSD embarrassment” on a board agenda, collected the most votes.

Running behind Amy were Porfirio Frausto, a business owner and Latino activist, and attorney Alex Aghajanian, who are four votes apart. Absentee ballots should be tallied by today.

Two of the candidates reached for comment said they were disheartened that only 11.1% of the school district’s voters in Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre cast ballots.

“It’s a pretty sorry state of affairs,” Frausto said. “For all the talk about the schools, it was a pitiful turnout.”

Amy said he was disappointed that he did not win outright. “It would be nice to start dealing with issues instead of going out and campaigning,” he said.

In Beverly Hills, where officials likened a school board campaign to a Hatfield and McCoy-style feud, the results were more definite. Voters overwhelmingly approved two board newcomers and retired one of two incumbents.

Orthopedic surgeon Willie Brien and banker Alissa Roston each garnered 31% of the vote, while incumbents Virginia A. Maas and Allison Okyle fought neck and neck for third place. In the end, each won about 19% of the vote, with Maas besting Okyle by just 48 votes.

Correspondent Monte Morin and Times staff writer Roberto Manzano contributed to this report.

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FINAL ELECTION RETURNS B6