Election offers mixed results
Campus Times
November 8, 1996
Less than half of the American voters across the country voted on Tuesday
for the men and women who will take this country to the next millennium.
Californians had 15 ballot propositions to vote on, along with Los Angeles
County district attorney, congressional leaders, judges and the most coveted
office in America, the presidency.
President Bill Clinton will return for a second term, making him the seventh
Democrat elected to a second term.
For a second time, Clinton made it to White House without a majority of
votes. He recieved 49 percent of the popular vote, Republican challenger
Bob Dole had 41 percent and Ross Perot finished with 8 percent.
Californians voted to defeat Propositions 205 (jail bonds), 207 (attorney
fees), 211 (attorney fees), 212 (campaign reform), 214 (health care reform)
and 216 (health care reform).
Propositions 204 (water bonds), 206 (veterans' bonds), 208 (campaign reform),
209 (elimination of racial preferences in hiring and education), 210 (minimum
wage increase), 213 (felon lawsuit recovery), 215 (marijuana for medical
purposes), 217 (top tax rate) and 218 (tax approval) passed and will take
effect Jan.1, 1997.
Gil Garcetti will return to a second term as district attorney after he
narrowly defeated challenger John Lynch with 53.34 percent of the popular
vote.
Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) was overwhelmingly supported as he will
return to Congress for his ninth term.
Democratic challenger David Levering, a former history teacher at
Cal Poly Pomona, won a fraction of the votes with 33.26 percentage points
overall.
George E. Brown, Jr. (D-Colton,) a 33 year member of Congress, has yet to
call his race victorious as Judge Linda Wilde is keeping the race too close
to call. Both candidates have slightly under 50 percent of the vote for
the 42nd District.
As predicted, Jay Kim won a large number of the votes in the 41st District
with 62 percent. Democratic challenger Richard Waldron received 33 percent
of the vote.