LA voters appeared to reject Measure A Tuesday, a proposal to raise the sales tax by a half-cent in the City of Los Angeles.
The new city revenue would have gone towards "911 emergency response services; maintaining firefighter, paramedic, and police officer staffing levels; continuing community policing, senior services, after-school gang and drug prevention programs; [and] repairing potholes and sidewalks."
The polls closed at 8 p.m. By 1:37 a.m. Wednesday, the city's released unofficial results showed voters rejecting the measure 55 percent to 45 percent, with 90 percent of votes counted. The measure needs just a simple majority to pass, notes CBS LA.
Proponents, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and the League of Women Voters, argued the tax is needed to offset state funding cuts and the city's budget deficit. The measure would have brought the total sales tax in LA to 9.5 percent (with 1.25 percent going to the city). The sales tax is already 9.5 percent in several cities within LA County.
Opponents of the measure, including the Los Angeles Times and all the mayoral candidates, said the tax hike would drive business out of the city. The Times had suggested that voters should give incoming leaders a chance to balance the budget without a tax that "could hurt vulnerable consumers, deter businesses from locating in the city and slow the commerce that fuels the economy."
In the USC Price/LA Times poll released Sunday, 53.4 percent were in favor of the tax hike and 40.6 percent were opposed.
Follow the live blog below for updates on the mayoral results as well as other election results.
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