Voters turn out in record numbers, many issues and candidates close races.

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Los Angeles County
voters turned out in record numbers Tuesday to elect a new president and Santa
Clarita voters were no exception. They went to the polls and returned some
local legislators to office, changed the state constitution to ban gay marriage
and overwhelmingly approved a $300 million school bond for the William S. Hart
District construction projects.

A complete rundown of the votes tallied is available here.

Congressman Buck McKeon will go back to Washington (where he
plans to re-introduce the Soledad Canyon Mining Act, legislation that would
banish cement giant Cemex forever from our canyons); and Senator George Runner
and Assemblyman Cameron Smyth will return to Sacramento, all of them winning
their seats, although opponents did give them a run for their money.

In the 37th State Assembly, Audra Strickland will
be heading north again, but her husband, Tony, who challenged Hanna-Beth
Jackson for the 19th State Senate seat will most likely stay home in
the Southland (more on that story here). 

Incumbents returning to serve on the Castaic Lake Water
Board include Bill Cooper, RJ Kelly, Jerry Gladbach and William Pecsi. Being
fitted for Superior Court judge robes are Hilleri G. Marritt, Thomas Rubinson,
Pat Connolly, Michael O’Gara and Michael V. Jesic.

State Measure 8, the proposition that will change the
state’s constitution to define marriage as strictly between a man and a woman
was approved (52.5 percent to 47.5 percent); this issue sparked the hottest
local controversy, with the busiest street corners in town packed with
supporters from both sides of the issue.

California was
one of three states with propositions prohibiting gay marriage; Florida
and Arizona also passed laws
against it. Attorney Gloria Allred announced today that she is representing a
lesbian couple, Robin Tyler and Diane Olsen, who were the first to be married
when the Supreme Court overturned the ban earlier this year. Allred sent the
lawsuit to the state’s highest court today.

Other proposals approved include those that would provide bonds
for a high speed train, children’s hospitals and veterans’ housing; requires
farm animals to be treated humanely, protects victims’ rights and, by a very
close margin, changed the rules for re-drawing boundaries for state legislature
districts.

Measure S, a local water softener rebate program, passed
with a wide margin; the measure will reduce chloride levels in the Santa Clara
Rivers.

Two Los Angeles County
issues, Measure R and U both passed; Measure R will provide funding for
improved transportation throughout the county and Measure U reduces by a
half-percent utility taxes paid by customers in unincorporated areas. With the
passage of Measure U, County Supervisors Michael Antonovich and Gloria Molina
have already directed the County’s CEO to create a plan for the 2009-2010
budget that allocates utility tax revenues to be spent on law enforcement,
parks/library operations, street repairs, community services and infrastructure
needs.