A contentious ballot proposal to add a $1-a-pack tax on cigarettes to fund cancer research remained too close to call after a $65 million spending spree by opponents and supporters. Opposition to the hike held a roughly 64,000-vote lead out of more than 3.8 million cast, but many votes remained to be counted Wednesday.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the 78-year-old incumbent Democrat, easily advanced to the November ballot in her quest to for a fifth term, where she will face Republican autism activist Elizabeth Emken.
Nearly two-thirds of voters approved an initiative to alter the state's 22-year-old term limits law, cutting the possible tenure of state legislators from 14 years to 12 years, but allowing them to serve all that time in one house. In San Diego and San Jose, voters overwhelmingly approved measures to cut retirement benefits for government workers in contests closely watched as states and cities throughout the country struggle with public employee pension obligations.
The primary was the first statewide use of a top-two voting system and legislative and congressional districts
that were drawn for the first time by an independent citizens panel.The changes produced several legislative and congressional contests where candidates from the same party will meet again in November, but early returns showed most of the closely watched independent candidates were not faring well, including Chad Condit, the son of former Rep. Gary Condit, who had hoped to challenge for the Central Valley seat his father once held.
Two long-serving Democrats, Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman, advanced to a November showdown in a bitterly contested San Fernando Valley area district that was a marquee matchup among California's congressional races.
Two Democrats also appeared headed for a same-party showdown in the Central Coast's 13th Senate District, where Assemblyman Jerry Hill of San Mateo faced former Assemblywoman Sally Lieber of Redwood.
Democrats hope to pick up as many as six seats in California's 53 congressional districts and have been working to register more voters in traditionally Republican-leaning areas of the Central Valley and the Inland Empire region of Southern California.
In San Diego, four well-known candidates were running for a spot in the fall runoff which will feature the top two finishers.
Republican Carl DeMaio, a city councilman, led with nearly a third of the vote, followed by U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, the lone Democrat in the race. Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, who switched his affiliation from GOP to independent during the race, was in third place.
In a state where voters usually face a long list of ballot measures, only two initiatives qualified before the Legislature passed a law moving all future measures to general elections.
Voters approved Proposition 28, the term limits measure that supporters said would establish consistency and reduce the influence of lobbyists. Opponents said the initiative was misleading because few lawmakers actually serve 14 years under the current system, which allows six years in the Assembly and eight years in the Senate.
Voters also were asked whether to add a $1-a-pack tax to cigarettes to help fund cancer research and anti-smoking campaigns in an expensive ballot fight that saw opponents, including tobacco companies, pour more than $47 million into their campaign. Supporters raised nearly $18 million for the measure, which was backed by cycling legend and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong.
The anti-tax ad campaign had an impact, and support for the hike eroded as primary day drew near. With all precincts reporting votes, opponents led by a little more than 1 percent but an unknown number of late-arriving early and absentee votes remained uncounted Wednesday, making the race too close to call.
The pension proposals drew national attention as possible bellwethers of anti-union sentiment. State GOP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro said voters have an appetite for government reform.
”Perhaps most interesting is that this wasn't a partisan cry for reform; even in a large city such as San Jose which has heavy Democrat registration, taxpayers stood up against union bosses and big government,” Del Beccaro said in a statement.
Advocates for public employee unions said they were outspent 8-to-1 and that the pension rollbacks will be ominous for workers.
The change approved by San Diego voters imposes a six-year freeze on pay levels used to determine pension benefits unless a two-thirds majority of the city council votes to override it. It also will put new hires, except for police officers, into 401(k)-style plans.
Under San Jose's Measure B, current workers would have to pay up to 16 percent of their salaries to keep their retirement plan or accept more modest benefits. New hires would get less generous benefits.
Election officials reported few problems at the polls and traffic was slow throughout the day, with some pundits predicting voter turnout could be as low as 25 percent, which would be a record low for a presidential primary.
”It looks abysmal,” said Contra Costa Registrar of Voters Steve Weir. “It looks like this could be an almost all mail-in ballot elections. It's seemingly that bad.”
Weir estimated that about 20 percent of ballots might not be processed Tuesday, which could leave many candidates waiting to find out Wednesday if they made the November runoff.
Source: www.times-standard.com
California voters OK changes to term limits for state legislators - Los Angeles Times
In Southern California contests, the nonpartisan race for Los Angeles County district attorney was locked in a three-way contest among Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Jackson and L.A. City Atty. Carmen Trutanich. Lacey, who was leading the pack, would become the first African American or female D.A. in county history if elected in a November runoff to replace the retiring Steve Cooley.
Three incumbent Los Angeles County supervisors — Mark Ridley-Thomas, Don Knabe and Michael D. Antonovich — appeared to be breezing to new four-year terms, with only Antonovich facing a challenger.
With both Democratic President Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney already having sewn up their party's nominations, California's presidential primary was anti-climactic, deflating voter enthusiasm and turnout at the polls.
Those who cast ballots made state history, however, with the first test of California's newly drawn political districts and the first comprehensive use of the top-two primary — which in races for the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and state Legislature sends the two candidates who collect the most votes to the November election, regardless of party affiliation.
Both changes were tailored to favor candidates with at least somewhat wide appeal, including those not hitched to any political party, and mute the hyper-partisan rancor consuming Washington and Sacramento. Among the offspring of these changes were some political oddities.
San Fernando Valley Democratic Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman, both shifted into the same district, were on pace to collect enough votes Tuesday to continue their intraparty grudge match through the November general election — sans a Republican challenger — and a party-backed Democrat was battling to survive until this fall's race for a Ventura County congressional seat that tilts slightly to the left.
"Candidates of both parties are being forced to talk to a much wider range of voters than ever before, instead of relying on the ideological bases of their parties, to get to the general election," said Dan Schnur, director of USC's Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics. "We're going to see a greater number of competitive elections, and that'll lead to the election of more responsive candidates."
Bucking that trend was U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who finished far ahead of a pack of 23 mostly unknown, scantily funded challengers in her bid for a fourth full term. Danville autism activist Elizabeth Emken, endorsed by the state Republican leadership, collected enough votes to face the popular, well funded Feinstein in November — a task so daunting that the Senate race failed to attract even an adventurous GOP middleweight.
Many races remained too close to call as votes were being counted late Tuesday, especially in contests with crowded fields and candidates separated by mere percentage points. Low turnout only added to the volatility.
Katrina Eagilen, a dentist who was in charge of a precinct at the base of Mt. Washington on Tuesday morning, shook her head in dismay at the paucity of voters.
"I'm a little bit disappointed," she said, gesturing at the empty voting booths and the quiet room. "Something so important, we should have the place crowded."
Tobacco companies poured nearly $47 million into their campaign to defeat Proposition 29, a tax designed to raise an estimated $860 million a year for research on tobacco-related diseases and prevention programs.
The American Cancer Society and other proponents predicted that the increase in cigarette prices would stop 220,000 kids from starting to smoke and encourage 100,000 current smokers to quit. They raised more than $11 million, including $500,000 from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and $1.5 million from cycling champ Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation.
Backed by the tobacco money, a coalition of anti-tax and business organizations mounted an aggressive campaign against the initiative, including a flood of television commercials and campaign mailers. The proposition, they argued, would create an unaccountable bureaucracy and allow the tax dollars to be siphoned out of California.
Voters were less conflicted about Proposition 28, which would limit lawmakers to 12 years in the Legislature, but allow them to serve the entire stretch in the Assembly or Senate. In 1990, Californians limited lawmakers to three two-year terms in the Assembly and two four-year stints in the Senate, for a total of 14 years in Sacramento.
The League of Women Voters of California and other supporters of the proposition said lawmakers spend too much time raising funds for the leap from one legislative house to the other and need to be allowed more time in one office to master complex issues and the lawmaking process.
Opponents, including term limits activist and former game show host Chuck Woolery, said the initiative was deceptively pitched as a toughening of term limits when, in fact, legislators could camp longer in one seat.
Holding onto one of California's 53 congressional seats also proved to be tougher than at any other time in a decade, thanks to political boundaries drawn by a panel of citizens instead of politicians or the courts. Longtime incumbents found themselves vying for votes in unfamiliar territory or in districts merged with those of other House members.
Source: www.latimes.com
Desi candidates in California set to November showdown - rediff.com
The June 5 US presidential primary elections though did not give a lead to any Asian Indian candidates vying election from California, but they are lucky to run for the general election in November thanks to the open primary rule that was adopted by the state.
This new open primary system means that the voter can vote for any candidate, regardless of what party preference he or she has indicated on the voter registration form.
Only two candidates receiving the most votes -- regardless of party preference -- move on to the general election.
Twenty five-year-old Ricky Gill, a native of San Joaquin County and a candidate for the US Congress in California's 9th Congressional District, earned about 28,652 votes (close to 10 per cent) less than his opponent and Democrat Jerry McNerney who has been representative since 2007.
McNerney with 35,088 votes will face off against Gill again in the November general election.
Making his remarks on the results of the open primary election from his campaign headquarters, Gill, the youngest candidate of all, said: "Your attendance confirms that we are on a strong footing as we move past the primary and on to the general election."
He said that his campaign began with a simple premise and a basic idea that the people of the 9th District are capable of representing themselves in the US Congress.
Gill, born and raised in Lodi, California and the son of immigrant parents, said: "But our work is not done. As we close one chapter in our common endeavour, we begin another."
Another Asian Indian candidate vying for general election from US Congress District 7, Ami Bera of Elk Grove -- a Democrat and doctor by profession -- was opposed by US Republican Representative Dan Lungren.
According to results from primary election, Lungren had 52 per cent of the votes while Bera had 42 per cent.
Ami Bera later told rediff.com, "I am honoured to be the nominee for California's Seventh Congressional District. This will be one of the tightest races in the country and I will work every day towards victory in November."
Another Candidate, Jack Uppal -- a 2012 Democratic candidate seeking election to the US House representing the 4th Congressional District of California -- said: "We advance to the November race. Our goal in the primary was always to come in 2nd because we did not plan on doing much campaigning (or much money) in the runoff to the primary. We have more than hope; we still expect to win in November."
Uppal who will be facing Republican Tom McClintock in November, got 49,473 votes while the latter polled 88,362 votes.
Attorney Harmeet K Dhillon, running for State Senate District 11, will be heading to the November election. Her opponent Mark Leno, Democrat, earned 88,446 votes and Dhillon, who decided at the last moment to run for the election, succeeded in getting 20,073 (about 18 per cent of the votes).
On the local state council level, Ash Kalra -- incumbent from San Jose District 2 -- made a lead with a narrow margin against Tim Murphy, an engineer.
Kalra and Murphy earned 4,344 and 3,917 votes respectively.
Source: www.rediff.com
Painting work blocking Maple Avenue lanes - Zanesville Times Recorder
ZANESVILLE Lanes are blocked off on Maple Avenue as crews repaint street lines.
The work starts near the Balls Lane intersection and heads north, according to officials with the street department.
The road is down to one lane going north and south.
The lanes will be reopened once the paint dries, likely sometime this afternoon, said Jeff Shook, street and sanitation department superintendent.
At that point, crews will move further south on Maple to paint lines near the Dresden Road intersection, Shook said.
Source: www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com
2 California cities voters approve pension cuts - The Guardian
ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press= SAN DIEGO (AP) — Voters in two major California cities overwhelmingly approved measures to cut retirement benefits for city workers Tuesday in contests being closely watched as states and local governments throughout the country struggle with mounting pension obligations.
In San Diego, 67 percent voted in favor of Proposition B while 33 percent were opposed. More than 65 percent of precincts reported.
The margin in San Jose was even wider, with 71 percent in favor of Measure B and 29 percent opposed. Nearly half of precincts reported.
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed called the vote a victory for fiscal reform.
"The voters get it, they understand what needs to be done," he said in an interview.
Supporters had a straightforward pitch: Pensions for city workers are unaffordable and more generous than many private companies offer, forcing libraries to slash hours and potholes to go unfilled.
"We believe people are tired of having services cut back because of big pensions," San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, a Republican who is being forced from office by term limits, said recently.
Shrinking tax revenues during the recession are also responsible for service cuts, but pensions are an easy target. San Diego's payments to the city's retirement fund soared from $43 million in 1999 to $231.2 million this year, equal to 20 percent of the city's general fund budget, which pays for day-to-day operations.
As the pension payments grew, San Diego's 1.3 million residents saw roads deteriorate and libraries and recreation centers cut hours. For a while, some fire stations had to share engines and trucks. The city has cut its workforce 14 percent to 10,100 employees since Sanders took office in 2005.
San Jose's pension payments jumped from $73 million in 2001 to $245 million this year, equal to 27 percent of its general fund budget. Voters there approved construction bonds at the beginning of the last decade, but four new libraries and a police station have never opened because the city cannot afford to operate them. The city of 960,000 cut its workforce 27 percent to 5,400 over the last 10 years.
Opponents, led by public employee unions, say the measures deprive workers of benefits they were counting on when they got hired. Some workers decided against potentially more lucrative jobs with private companies, figuring their retirement was relatively safe.
"This is part of a broader effort to attack workers and to make their lives miserable," San Diego Councilman Todd Gloria said during a debate on the San Diego measure.
Thom Reilly, former manager of Clark County, Nev., and now a professor of social work at San Diego State University, said opponents face a difficult task. He expects the California measures may spawn similar efforts elsewhere if they pass.
"The ones who are actually paying the taxes will never see these benefits in their lifetimes, so there's not a lot of sympathy in the public," he said.
The ballot measures differ on specifics. San Diego's imposes a six-year freeze on pay levels used to determine pension benefits unless a two-thirds majority of the City Council votes to override it. It also puts new hires, except for police officers, into 401(k)-style plans.
More than 100,000 residents signed petitions to put the San Diego measure on the ballot.
Under San Jose's measure, current workers have to pay up to 16 percent of their salaries to keep their retirement plan or accept more modest benefits. New hires would get less generous benefits.
Reed, a Democrat, joined an 8-3 City Council majority to put the measure on the ballot. He said Tuesday that he expected other cities in financial binds to pursue similar measures.
"We're at the leading edge but we're not alone," he said.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
California primary results: GOP catches a ‘top-two’ break - Washington Post
House Republicans got a big break under California’s new primary system Tuesday, after Democrats failed to get a candidate into the general election for Rep. Gary Miller’s (R-Calif.) swing district.
Miller himself still faces a tough race against GOP state Sen. Bob Dutton, but the quirks of the new “top-two” system mean Democrats now have no chance at the district, which had been rated as a toss-up by some handicappers.
Under the new system, the top two candidates in an open field make the general election, regardless of party. So while Miller (27 percent) and Dutton (25 percent) split up about half the vote, four Democrats on the ballot split up the other half into smaller pieces.
The result: The seat will stay Republican this fall.
It was hardly the only race where the state’s congressional delegation got a little shaken up though. The new primary system, combined with a citizen-drawn redistricting map, has put many of the state’s incumbents into tough races.
Below, we tell you who is looking vulnerable, and who had a good night.
Incumbents in trouble:
As expected, Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.) are headed for a November matchup. Sherman led Berman 42 percent to 32 percent in Tuesday’s vote, with mostly Republicans splitting up the rest of the vote.
Rep. Janice Hahn (D-Calif.) appears to be the clear favorite in her incumbent-versus-incumbent matchup, leading Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) 60 percent to 40 percent on Tuesday.
Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) was under 50 percent and faces 25-year-old Ricky Gill, who has been one of the GOP’s fundraising stars so far this cycle. McNerney led Gill 48 percent to 40 percent, with another Republican earning the other 12 percent.
Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) took just 41 percent of the vote in his new district, while the top two Democrats in the race outpolled him. It’s not yet clear whether he’ll face former San Diego City Councilman Scott Peters or former state Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, who were locked in a close race for second place.
Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) took just 42 percent of the vote in his contest with prosecutor Eric Swalwell (D) and an independent candidate, meaning Stark could face a tough one-on-one matchup with Swalwell in the fall.
Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and another Democrat combined for slightly more than half the vote, but Costa got just 41 percent of it, suggesting he’s got work to do. He faces attorney Brian Whelan (R), who took 26 percent, in the fall.
A pair of Republicans outpolled Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) in her newly competitive district, and the one who emerged — former lieutenant governor Abel Maldonado (R), appears to have a shot at beating her. Capps led Maldonado 46.5 percent to 30.5 percent, but Maldonado and another Republican combined for 51 percent of the vote.
Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) faces a tough race with state Sen. Gloria McLeod (D). Baca led her 45 percent to 36 percent Tuesday, with a Green Party candidate taking the other 19 percent.
Open seats:
In the swingy open 26th district, GOP state Sen. Tony Strickland led the way with 44 percent of the vote and will face state Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D), who took 27 percent. Independent Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks (19 percent) failed to make the final ballot after some early hype.
Riverside Community College Board Trustee Mark Takano (D) will face Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione (R) in the Democratic-leaning 41st district. But Republicans outpolled Democrats in the district and Tavaglione led Takano 45 percent to 36 percent.
State Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D) led Republican Long Beach City Councilman Gary DeLong 34 percent to 29 percent on Tuesday in a crowded field in the Democratic-leaning 47th district.
State Assemblyman David Valadao (R) is looking like a very strong favorite after taking 57 percent of the vote in the swingy, open 21st district. He faces local Chamber of Commerce official John Hernandez (D), who split the rest of the vote with another Democrat.
Looking solid, but on the radar:
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) will face Colusa County Supervisor Kim Vann, a national GOP favorite who emerged from a field that included four Republicans. But Garamendi took 53 percent of the vote, which is a good sign for him going forward.
Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) will face a rematch with Dr. Ami Bera (D) in a top-targeted race for Democrats, but Lungren also took 53 percent of the vote.
Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) took 48 percent of the vote but outpaced his nearest competition by 20 points. Democrats got their man, though, with former astronaut Jose Hernandez making it to the general election.
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) was just over 50 percent of the vote, while three Republicans combined for 45 percent. She faces Republican Jerry Hayden.
Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) took a very strong 58 percent of the vote in a district Democrats have talked about targeting. She faces emergency room doctor Raul Ruiz (D), who was the only other candidate in the field Tuesday.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) was under 46 percent of the vote in a very crowded field. He will face independent Bill Bloomfield.
New map, new rules shake up California primaries
Source: www.washingtonpost.com
California's Prop 29 Results: Once-Favored Cigarette Tax Hike Still Too Close to Call - International Business Times
There is already an 87-cent per-pack tax on cigarettes in California.
Polls from weeks ago showed that California was largely in favor of the measure, which promises to bring in about $855 million the first year it is implemented. A Public Policy Institute of California survey from March showed that 67 percent supported Prop 29.
Since then, however, tobacco companies have poured millions of dollars in an advertising push against the proposal. Another poll in May found that support for Prop 29 had dropped to 53 percent. The tobacco industry outspent its opponents 4 to 1 by largely financing $47 million in ads, the Boston Globe reported.
California has long had a reputation for having tough anti-smoking laws. It boasts having the second-smallest percentage of smokers in the country -- 11.9 percent last year -- and is only superseded by Utah's 9.1 percent.
The proposal attracted the likes of public health champion Michael Bloomberg, New York City's mayor, who contributed $500,000 to the campaign. New York City banned smoking in restaurants and bars in 2002 and in public parks and beaches in 2011, and Bloomberg has proposed a ban on the sale of large sodas and sugary drinks in most businesses.
Bicycling champion Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor, has also taken part in a public relations initiative to pass the tax hike.
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Source: www.ibtimes.com
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