Two centerpieces of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s campaign to reshape California’s budget and electoral politics fared poorly late Tuesday.
A ballot item that would have capped state spending and given the governor greater authority to make budget cuts was defeated. One that would strip lawmakers of their power to carry out redistricting was trailing badly.
Two other initiatives backed by the governor – one lengthening teacher tenure and a second that would force unions to get permission of members before using dues for political purposes – were closer. The union measure was winning, but the teacher-tenure proposal was in a dead heat.
Meanwhile in Ohio, voters soundly rejected a package of election revision measures pushed by Democrats after President Bush’s narrow and disputed re-election victory there last year.
The four failed measures, backed by labor unions, government-reform organizations and the Internet-fueled activist group MoveOn.org, would have stripped the secretary of state’s office of the authority to conduct elections and made it much easier to vote absentee up to a month before Election Day.
The package also included strict new limits on campaign contributions and the creation of an independent panel to redraw legislative-district lines.
Also on Tuesday, voters in Texas resoundingly approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, making Texas the 19th state to outlaw same- sex marriage. Voters in Maine were considering a state law barring discrimination against gay men and lesbians.
The Ohio initiatives were among the most closely watched of 39 ballot measures in seven states Tuesday, an unusually high number in an off-year election. Voters were asked to decide measures concerning gay rights, medical malpractice, legislative redistricting, state budgets, campaign finance, teacher tenure, drug discount plans and transportation and bond issues.
The same-sex marriage contest in Texas was lopsided; nearly complete returns showed the gay-marriage ban supported by about 76 percent of voters. Like every other state except Massachusetts, Texas didn’t permit same-sex marriages previously, but the constitutional amendment was touted as an extra guard against future court rulings.
“Texans know that marriage is between a man and a woman, and children deserve both a mom and a dad. They don’t need a Ph.D. or a degree in anything else to teach them that,” said Kelly Shackelford, a leader of Texans for Marriage, which favored the ban.
Gay-rights leaders were dismayed by the outcome but vowed to continue a state-by- state battle for recognition of same-sex unions.
The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tuesday election highlights:
GOVERNORS
NEW JERSEY: Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine beat Republican businessman Doug Forrester. Both drew heavily on their personal fortunes to wage a negative campaign to succeed acting Gov. Richard Codey, a Democrat.
VIRGINIA: Democratic Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine soundly defeated Republican Jerry Kilgore, a former attorney general, in a closely watched contest to succeed popular Democratic Gov. Mark Warner.
STATEWIDE MEASURES
CALIFORNIA: Four measures promoted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger:
Rejected: Cap state spending, give governor more power to make budget cuts.
Result unknown: Make teachers work five years instead of two to pass probation.
Result unknown: Shift power over redistricting from lawmakers to a panel of retired judges.
Result unknown: Require public employee unions to get members’ permission before dues could be used for political purposes.
Other measures:
Result unknown: Require parents to be notified when a minor seeks an abortion.
Rejected: Create a program for prescription drug discounts.
Rejected: Reregulate state’s energy market, requiring electric service providers to be controlled by California Public Utilities Commission.
MAINE: Rejected: Repeal a new law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation; Approved: Offer tax breaks for waterfront property used for commercial fishing.
NEW JERSEY: Approved: Create post of lieutenant governor.
NEW YORK: Rejected: Give the Legislature, not the governor, the upper hand in writing a budget.
OHIO: Rejected: Shift redistricting powers from state legislators and top statewide officeholders to a commission.
Rejected: Reduce limit on individual contributions to political candidates.
Rejected: Shift oversight of elections from secretary of state to a bipartisan, nine-member board.
Rejected: Allow all voters to cast ballots early by mail.
TEXAS: Approved: Amend state constitution to ban gay marriage.
WASHINGTON: Result unknown: Place cap on certain types of jury awards in medical malpractice cases and limit lawyers’ fees.
Result unknown: Set up state- run supplemental malpractice insurance program, and allow doctors’ licenses to be revoked after three malpractice verdicts against them in 10 years.
Approved: Expand ban on indoor smoking to include bars, restaurants, nontribal casinos.
Result unknown: Overturn the Legislature’s gas-tax increase of 9.5 cents a gallon.
LOCAL MEASURES
LIVERMORE, Calif.: Result unknown: Clear initial barrier to build the nation’s largest solar- powered housing development.
MIDDLEFIELD, Ohio: Rejected: Eliminate zoning laws that local Amish community says prevent the operation of family woodworking shops.
OGUNQUIT, Maine: Approved: Ban chain restaurants.
PHILADELPHIA: Approved: Impose limits on campaign contributions by those seeking municipal contracts.
SAN FRANCISCO: Approved: Prohibit sale of guns and ammunition, and ban residents, except for police, security guards or military personnel, from possessing handguns.
Approved: Oppose military recruiting in public schools and colleges.
SEATTLE: Result unknown: Construct 10.6-mile monorail.
SONOMA COUNTY, Calif.: Result unknown: Ban the growing of genetically modified crops.
WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas: Rejected: Change town’s name to West Settlement.
MAYORS
ATLANTA: The city’s first female mayor, Shirley Franklin, trounced two little-known challengers in her bid for a second term.
BOSTON: Three-term Mayor Thomas Menino, whose fractured diction earned him the nickname “Mumbles,” defeated longtime City Councilwoman Maura Hennigan.
CINCINNATI: State Rep. Mark Mallory, who is black and a member of a prominent political family, beat white City Councilman David Pepper four years after race riots tore apart the city.
CLEVELAND: Popular City Council President Frank Jackson, whose hard-luck life growing up in the nation’s 12th-poorest city endeared him to voters, edged out incumbent Jane Campbell, the first woman to lead Cleveland.
DETROIT: Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was in danger of becoming the first Detroit mayor since 1961 to be defeated in a re-election bid. His opponent: Freman Hendrix, deputy mayor under Kilpatrick’s predecessor.
HOUSTON: Mayor Bill White was easily re-elected, his popularity soaring after the city absorbed refugees from Hurricane Katrina and took strong measures to protect residents from Hurricane Rita. It didn’t hurt that the Houston Astros played in their first World Series, too.
MINNEAPOLIS: First-term incumbent R.T. Rybak won despite a challenge from fellow Democrat Peter McLaughlin.
NEW YORK CITY: Billionaire Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg won a second term in a blowout in the heavily Democratic city against former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer.
PITTSBURGH: Former City Councilman Bob O’Connor, a Democrat, beat GOP lawyer Joe Weinroth in a city that has not elected a Republican mayor since the Depression.
SEATTLE: Greg Nickels seemed a shoo-in for a second term, since critics were unable to recruit a high-profile challenger, settling on former University of Washington professor Al Runte.
ST. PAUL, Minn.: Randy Kelly was voted out after one term in this heavily Democratic city, largely because he endorsed President Bush last year. Challenger Chris Coleman, a former City Council member, had led 2-to-1 in polls.
SAN DIEGO: Donna Frye, a maverick Democratic councilwoman and surf-shop owner who nearly won the job last year in a write-in bid, faced Republican Jerry Sanders, a former police chief backed by the city’s business establishment.
CITY COUNCILS
DETROIT: Motown singer Martha Reeves was among candidates vying for nine City Council seats.
She says Detroit is missing the love it had in the 1960s, when she belted out such hits as “Dancing in the Street” and “Heat Wave.”
PRESCOTT, Ariz.: Howard Mechanic, who spent nearly three decades as a fugitive before being unmasked during a run for public office in 2000, lost a seat on the Prescott City Council. Mechanic went to prison for his part in a Vietnam War protest and served nearly a year before he was pardoned by President Clinton.
