Lead widens for Measure R

The lead grew larger on Friday for Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase for transportation in Los Angeles County. Measure R now has 67.31% of the vote, according to unofficial election results from the Los Angeles County Registrar. On Tuesday, Measure R had 67.23% of the vote. It needs two-thirds of the vote to pass.

In terms of raw votes, Measure R now holds a lead of about 16,675 votes -- an increase of almost 2,400 from the lead it held after the Tuesday update.

I wasn't able to verify Friday afternoon exactly how many absentee ballots and provisional ballots remain to be counted. I'll try to get that number on Monday. The next update on results will be Tuesday afternoon.

--Steve Hymon

Comments

[Ken Alpern]

Furthermore, it needs to be pointed out that the strategy of not building roads, freeways, etc. didn't work out. This strategy was initiated by then-governor Jerry Brown several decades ago, and has thoroughly failed.

Discussions about land use policy, developer obligations to contribute to infrastructure in their projects, immigration policy and the like are all good with respect to addressing population growth.

As for doing nothing as a way to stem population growth...been there, done that--we just can't do that anymore!

[Tony Fernandez]

Umm Kay, you do realize that by limiting the amount of people that can come to California you make housing more and more expensive. That means that people living here need higher salaries, so businesses will flee the state. With no business, people will eventually leave. It's just a bad spiral.

Plus, this is a city. Cities grow. This is not some suburb, this is a big city. Get used to it.

[Kay]

This is an error. I have read that an estimated 50 million people will be in California within 25 years. We need less people not more. This train will just make it easier for people to get around. Stop enabling people to come to California. Make it harder. A 2-hour commute to work should make people NOT want to come to the state.

[Milan M]

I think accolades are in order to the persons responsible for drafting the wording of the measure on the ballot.

Quite shrewd and very likely the element that tipped the scales in favor of Measure R among less transit-savvy voters.

[Shiela]

Merto's marketing guy is brilliant. He has taken that agency so far so fast.

[Roger Christensen]

We are living in a new Los Angeles. Check out our history of votes for transit tax measures:

1968 - 44.88% failed
1974 - 46.39% failed
1976 - 39.64% failed
1980 - 54.33% passed
1990 - 50.44% passed
2008 - 67.31% passed

Roger Christensen

[Dan W.]

Wow. This is just great!

[Ken Alpern]

Well, I think we can all see where this is trending!

Thanks for the pick-me-up before the weekend, Steve!