Garden Grove Journal
Voters in Stanton Tuesday rejected a proposed increase in the utility users tax, throwing into doubt that city’s efforts to dig itself out of a financial hole.
According to unofficial results preliminary Wednesday morning from the Orange County Registrar of Voters, Measure J – which would increase the tax from 5 percent to 7.5 percent – was defeated by a margin of 54.8 percent “no” to 45.2 percent “yes.”
The proposed tax hike would cost a typical homeowner an extra $6 a month and was expected to raise $1 million annually toward a projected $3 million municipal deficit.
Measure K, an advisory item intended to assure voters that the increase would go primarily to pay for public safety services (police and fire) was winning easily by a margin of 72.1 percent to 27.9 percent.
Elsewhere, there were few surprises. Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen of Garden Grove easily turned back challenger Steve Rocco in the race for the First District suit. The polling showed her winning by a margin of 73.6 percent to 26.4percent.
In the new 47th Congressional District, which runs from Long Beach to Garden Grove/Westminster, the top two finishers are Republican Gary DeLong (28.4 percent) and Democrat Alan Lowenthal (25.3 percent).
Under the new open primary process, all candidates for a partisan office appear in the same list, instead of separate contests for each party. The top two will meet in a runoff in November.
