Voters Send Mixed Messages on Bonds

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DALLAS – Texas voters approved a $2 billion water bond program, the largest single bond-related issue on the nation’s ballots Tuesday.

While water was a winner in the Lone Star State, voters may have sealed the fate of Houston’s Astrodome by rejecting a bond measure to repurpose the mothballed domed stadium, and issued a rare rejection of high school football stadium bonds.

Voters around the nation said “yes” to 325 bond measures authorizing almost $12.4 billion in debt in results available as of Wednesday afternoon, according to data from Ipreo.

They said “no” to 142 measures for $4.7 billion. Results were unclear for 24 elections with $834 million of bond authorization at stake.

Voters around the nation said “yes” to 325 bond measures authorizing almost $12.4 billion in debt in results available as of Wednesday afternoon, according to data from Ipreo.

They said “no” to 142 measures for $4.7 billion. Results were unclear for 24 elections with $834 million of bond authorization at stake.

Voters in New Jersey re-elected Republican Gov. Chris Christie, and voters in Virginia narrowly elected Democrat Terry McAuliffe to replace Republican Bob McDonnell, who couldn’t run again because of Virginia’s one-term limit.

McAuliffe supported McDonnell’s plan to fund projects with revenues from a higher sales on fuel wholesalers. GOP candidate Ken Cuccinelli called the plan unconstitutional and proposed to transfer much of the responsibility for extending and maintaining the state highway system to larger counties.

Bill de Blasio will become New York City’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years after trouncing Republican Joseph Lhota by a nearly 50-point landslide in the race to replace Michael Bloomberg.

Voters in California’s two bankrupt cities had an opportunity to influence those proceedings.

In Stockton, they approved a ¾-cent sales tax increase that city officials said was necessary to support the city’s Chapter 9 exit plan, to which most of its bond creditors have consented.

In San Bernardino, voters recalled two sitting elected officials, including City Attorney Jim Penman, a high-profile figure in the city’s bankruptcy proceedings.

Seattle voters, in early returns, appeared to be tossing out incumbent Mike McGinn in favor of State Sen. Ed Murray.

Detroit voters picked Mike Duggan to be the mayor who will tackle the city’s exit from emergency management and bankruptcy. The former CEO of Detroit Medical Center and Wayne County deputy executive beat Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon for the open seat.

Duggan, who has a reputation for restructuring, will lead the city through a crucial four years as it emerges from bankruptcy and embarks on a massive restructuring plan.

Texas’ $2 billion draft from the state’s $12 billion rainy day fund for water projects was among more than $6.7 billion in bond requests from the state, Texas cities, school districts, and local districts on Tuesday’s ballots.

Creation of the water fund will require no tax increase, but voters were less generous on proposals that did.

Harris County voters rejected $217 million of bonds to preserve the historic Astrodome, which has been virtually abandoned since Oct. 9, 1999 when the Houston Astros played their last baseball game in the stadium.

With the remodeling proposal dead, Harris County Commissioners are expected to seek demolition proposals. Demolition is estimated to cost about $24 million.

“We’re going to have to do something quick,” County Judge Ed Emmett told the Houston Chronicle when the election results were known. “We can’t allow the once-proud dome to sit like a rusting ship in the middle of a parking lot.”

Harris County voters had not rejected a bond measure since 2007.

In the suburban Katy Independent School District, voters rejected a $69 million high school stadium that would have been the most costly in the state. Lavish high school stadiums are rarely rejected in Texas, with the Dallas suburb of Allen opening a $60 million stadium recently.

Another Harris County bond proposal, for a $70 million city-county inmate processing center, barely passed with 50.1 percent of the vote. The vote will let the city close its two aging jails.

In suburban Fort Bend County, voters approved $184.9 million of road expansion and improvement bonds.

Meanwhile, Houston Mayor Annise Parker won re-election easily against former City Attorney Ben Hall.

In North Texas, Fort Worth Independent School District voters approved the sale of $489.6 million of bonds for school construction and Denton ISD voters approved $312.6 million of bonds.

In Central Texas, Williamson County voters approved $315 million of bond issuance; Austin voters approved $65 million for affordable housing; and Round Rock voters approved $123.6 million of bonds for parks and recreation. 

Comal ISD voters turned down the district’s $431 million bonding plan. Alvin ISD voters appeared to approve $212.4 million school construction bonds in final, unofficial results.

Elsewhere in the Southwest, Colorado voters rejected a nearly $1 billion income tax increase to support public schools and charter schools. Amendment 66, which would have created a two-tiered income tax structure with higher taxes on the wealthy, was opposed by more than 65% of the state’s voters.

In Denver, a 3.5% tax on legalized sales of marijuana passed easily.

Voters in 11 rural counties were asked if they wanted to secede from the state due to perceived liberalism in the urban corridor along Interstate 25. Only five of the 11 counties voted in favor, and voters in Weld County, the most populous, opposed the measure by 57% to 43%.

In Utah, voters in the suburban Jordan School District rejected a $495 million bond proposal.

In Arizona, voters in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa easily approved $130.8 million bonds for highways and streets and public safety, while those in the affluent suburb of Scottsdale rejected four bond questions valued at $212 million. It was the second bond proposal to fail in Scottsdale in three years

In Marin County, Calif., voters appeared to be approving $394 million of general obligation bonds to rebuild the county’s general hospital, in a referendum that needed a two-thirds majority to pass.

Voters in Florida’s largest county, Miami-Dade, about 65% of voters approved hiking their property taxes to issue $830 million in general obligation bonds to modernize the public Jackson Health System.

The approval came despite years of financial troubles for the third-largest health system in the nation, and the recent conclusion of an inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission into a 2009 bond offering in which the agency charged the system’s oversight board, the Public Health Trust, with defrauding investors by failing to disclose its financial problems.

Voters in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., approved $500 million in bond issuance: $290 million for Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools and $210 million for Central Piedmont Community College.

Chesterfield County, Va., voters approved $353 million of bonds, $304 million for school construction and renovation and $49 million for an emergency communication system. Fairfax County, Va., voters approved $250 million bonds for school construction, improvement, renovations and land acquisition.

In the Northeast, Maine voters approved $150 million in bonds in five separate referendum questions. The results varied from 53% in favor of a $4.5 million Maine Maritime Academy bond to 73% in favor of a $100 million transportation bond.

New York state voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing seven Las Vegas-style casinos and also voted to continue to allow cities, counties and villages to exceed debt limits to pay for sewage treatment facilities.

In Philadelphia 64% voted in favor of a $95 million bond to pay for a variety of city government projects.

In the Midwest, Columbus, Ohio, voters rejected a $175 million school bond plan, but approved $842 million for public infrastructure.

In Cincinnati voters rejected Issue Four, which would have required the city to pay forecast pension obligation shortfalls within 10 years or create revenues to do so.

In Polk County, Iowa, voters approved $81 million in general obligation borrowing to finance upgrades to the county’s judicial building including its historic courthouse, former county jail, and other facilities in Des Moines.

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