Orange County, NY election results showed voters backing several local tax measures on Tuesday night. Early returns gave Santa Ana Measure N 67% support and Costa Mesa Measure C 72% support, while San Clemente Measure M was trailing.
One Orange voter saw the stakes in plain numbers. Measure I was drawing 55% support in Orange as of 11:00 p.m., with over 27,000 votes counted, and the measure would raise the city’s sales tax by 1% for 13 years and bring in $37 million in annual revenue.
Orange Measure I and Measure J
Orange had two tax questions on the ballot. Shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday, Measure J was drawing about 60% support, and it would raise the hotel tax from 10% to 14% for hotels with 11 rooms or more. City officials expected Measure J to bring in $3 million a year.
As vote counting continued, Measure I stayed ahead while Santa Ana Measure N held its lead with roughly 67% support. Measure N would keep a 1.5% sales tax increase indefinitely, after it had been scheduled to decrease in a couple of years before ending in 2039.
Westminster Placentia and Los Alamitos
Three other hotel-tax measures were also leading early. In Westminster, over 62% of voters backed Measure O, which would raise the hotel tax from 8% to 10% and generate over $450,000 in annual revenue. In Placentia, over 62% supported Measure L, which would raise the hotel tax from 10% to 14% and bring in $715,000 each year.
In Los Alamitos, about 68% of voters supported Measure G. That measure would raise the hotel tax from 8% to 12% and was expected to generate over $300,000 in annual revenue after the first year. As of Tuesday night, over 11,400 votes had been counted in the race for Measure L, and over 2,300 votes had been counted in the race for Measure G.
San Clemente Measure M
San Clemente was the exception. Around 62% of voters were against Measure M, even though the proposal would raise the sales tax by 1% and divide the revenue between coastal projects such as sand replenishment and wildfire prevention. The measure was a voter initiative placed on the ballot by registered voters.
The count left city leaders and residents with a familiar question: whether these early leads would hold as more ballots were added. For now, the only firm answer is that several Orange County tax measures were ahead, and San Clemente Measure M was not one of them.
