In a bitter showdown that pitted two Republicans against each other to succeed Buck McKeon in Congress, state Sen. Steve Knight defeated former Sen. Tony Strickland 53.5-46.5 Tuesday.
Strickland, who was McKeon’s pick, outspent his opponent 5-1 but was hampered by the fact that he didn’t live in the congressional district in which he was running.
Sen. Steve Knight, congressman-elect.
Knight, a former soldier and police officer, followed his father Pete Knight’s path into politics by serving on the Palmdale City Council and then the Assembly beginning in 2008. As a state senator for the last two years, he has represented half of the Santa Clarita Valley and all of the Antelope Valley – territories that overlap the 25th congressional district.
On Tuesday, Knight polled just as well in Ventura County as he did in the rest of the 25th district. Strickland had been thought to have an edge there.
In the 38th Assembly district, incumbent Republican Scott Wilk easily defeated challenger Jorge Fuentes 66.5-33.5.
Meanwhile in the 36th, one-term incumbent Democrat Steve Fox lost to Republican challenger Tom Lackey 61.5-38.5. The district was targeted by the Republicans who sought to stop the Democrats from regaining a supermajority in Sacramento – which would have enabled them to raise taxes without needing any Republican support.
Locally, city voters rejected a controversial ballot measure that called for the removal of 62 billboards from the Metrolink right-of-way through town and would have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue to the city annually from three new digital billboards along the 5 and 14 freeways.
Now the city will have to wait a year before it can adopt a similar ordinance. Some critics have called for the city to negotiate directly with billboard owners and cut Metro out of the deal, but that’s not possible under state law, which entitles both the billboard owners and the landowner (Metro) to just compensation.
Anecdotally, after the ballot measures that established the city and its electoral system in 1987, only two ballot measures have gone before city voters. Both failed.
Voters in the Saugus Union School District said “yes” to a school facilities bond measure that will repair leaky roofs and replace worn-out plumbing and electrical systems as well as add new science labs and upgrade technology in the classrooms. The measure, which needed a 55 percent vote to pass, took a narrow lead early Tuesday evening and never looked back.
Los Angeles County has a new sheriff in the person of Jim McDonnell, a 33-year law enforcement veteran who has headed the Long Beach Police Department since 2010. He easily defeated Paul Tanaka, the embattled former undersheriff who has been under scrutiny in the FBI’s jail violence investigation.
In the Castaic Lake Water Agency, all four incumbents who were up for election – Tom Campbell, Gary Martin, Ed Colley and Robert DiPrimio – were given four more years.
Former Sen. George Runner overcame a re-challenge from Democrat Chris Parker and won four more years on the California Board of Equalization.
For complete results of all local and statewide elections, including those not discussed above, click here.
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11 Comments
So the Confederate secessionist sympathizer wins?
Or stated differently, the guy who printed tens of thousands of confederate flags and mailed them to all of the voters lost. Thanks to Tony’s junk mail, there have never been so many confederate flags in the SCV & AV.
That is brilliant.
My sides hurt.
Congratulations to Steve. Nice to see the local grassroots candidate win.
Agree with Steve Tannehill 200%. Steve was realistic about what he could do as part of a big body i.e.the House of Rep; didn’t make false promises like he would be Superman and make sure “they” didn’t get paid if a budget didn’t pass etc. Steve stayed on message, stood for the Constitution irrespective of the critics who worked hard to sling mud and he didn’t bluster; he didn’t waiver. AND this man won with local money and not from out-of-area high-powered brokers who yielded to the garbage spewed by a thank-God-he’s-departing congressman. Congrats Steve and the lovely devoted Lily.
HUGE Thank you SCVTV for your tireless dedication to covering this election day and night.
Leon, You should try to be a little neutral in your writing. Your article is full of your prejudice.
In the paragraph on the defeat of measure you should have lead with a probable reason why it was defeated, not your opinion of why the voters are misguided.
It should have read something like: “Voters reject 50-year plan for digital billboards on freeways.”
Bruce – The measure was “for the removal of 62 advertising structures.” It’s right in the ballot description: “[An agreement] for the removal of 62 advertising structures, within the City, by METRO or any other means, and construction and operation of three digital billboards, adjacent to the Interstate 5 and State Route 14 freeways, and the dedication to the City of revenue received from digital billboards, which creates an ongoing revenue stream.” Perhaps a better paraphrase of the ballot description would have been “… the removal of a net 59 billboards” (62 minus 3).
that’s measure S of course
Mr. Worden, It is unfortunate that your story includes inaccuracies. The Measure S deal was not 62 billboard structures, but rather 40. The City Attorney told the City Council that it would be better if we did not put the number of billboards on the ballot, but the majority of the Council ignored that advice and chose to mislead the public. In addition the City Attorney told the Council in our hearings that if the billboard companies take their own billboards down, Metro cannot replace them with other boards. Also there was no guaranteed revenue to the City, unlike deals in other Cities which have both a gross guarantee and a percentage of the net. Our own expert said at the City Council meeting that other Cities were getting a better deal.
Hi TimBen! (Leon) Well, the ball’s in your court. I certainly hope you’re able to come up with a better deal now – or any deal! (By the way – there are no inaccuracies in the story. As you know the measure itself says 62 billboards [= advertising structures], and as you know, state law says the landowner, in this case Metro, is entitled to compensation. The story does not say anything about replacing billboards with new billboards after they’re removed.)