Local News:
1. Pamela Comstock, Cynthia Mathews, Don Lane and Micah Posner won the four open Santa Cruz City Council seats on election day. Richelle Noroyan had a large following but did not generate enough local votes. She was a first-time Santa Cruz City Council candidate and raised more campaign funds than any other city council candidate since Oct. 1. Don Lane and Cynthia Mathews have been elected before, while Micah Posner and Richelle Noroyan have not.
2. Before election day, measures N and Q had received increased support from several local hotel owners, Democratic Party groups, and labor unions. Both passed by wide margins — Measure N passed with 72 percent in favor and Measure Q passed with 82 percent in favor. Measure N will increase the lodging tax levied on hotel guests staying in unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz county from 9.5 percent to 11 percent. Measure Q will increase the same tax on guests staying in Santa Cruz city limits from 10 percent to 11 percent. The increased revenue will support local government services, including fire, police and parks and recreation.
State News:
1. According to a Sacramento Bee article on Nov. 5, the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) claimed the Arizona group that donated $11 million to the campaigns for “No on 30” and “Yes on 32” laundered money. The donation, routed by groups Americans for Job Security and The Center to Protect Patient Rights, was the single largest out-of-state contribution to a political campaign in California history. The FPPC released a statement that said, “Under California law, the failure to disclose this initially was campaign money laundering … At $11 million, this is the largest contribution ever disclosed as campaign money laundering in California history.”
2. Proposition 34, the state measure that would have repealed the death penalty, failed to pass on Nov. 6. A Field Poll released the Friday before the election showed that 45 percent of voters supported the proposition, while 38 percent opposed it. Seventeen percent remained undecided. According to the poll, the main factor in voters’ decisions is the cost to taxpayers rather than moral concerns. The proposition failed with 53 percent voting no. California’s legislative analyst predicted that the measure would have saved the state roughly $100 million dollars in the first few years after its passage.
National News:
1. Wins for women were prominent in the Nov. 6 election. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) became the first openly queer female elected to the position of senator, defeating Tommy Thompson. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) secured the senator seat against incumbent GOP Sen. Scott Brown. The 113th Congress will have a historic number of female senators, a record of 20. Reps. Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, who made harsh stances on abortion legislation and “legitimate rape,” lost bids.
2. Mazie Hirono (D-Ill.) becomes the first Asian-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
3. In a Wisconsin speech billed as the “closing argument” of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, the candidate argued that Obama’s failure to deliver on his promises regarding the economy was reason to elect a new president. However, voters across the United States decided to re-elect Pres. Barack Obama to another four years in office. Supporters in Washington D.C. gathered outside the White House when the news was reported, cheering.
4. Colorado and Washington passed legislation during the Nov. 6 election legalizing recreational marijuna. Both states may face legal challenges from the federal government.
