April 13, 1988|BRAD HANSON and DAVID REYES | Times Staff Writers

Challenger Ron Bates defeated Los Alamitos Mayor Paul Bernal but incumbent Charles E. Sylvia hung on to retain his seat Tuesday, while voters approved Measure A, a proposed business tax increase that could bring in $150,000 in added revenue.

Bates, 41, a part-time consultant for the city of Anaheim whose campaign focused on traffic congestion from development where the Los Alamitos Race Course and Golf Course are now situated, held a comfortable 3-to-2 margin over his closest rival, with all seven precincts reporting, according to unofficial election results from the city clerk’s office. There were two council seats at stake in the election.

Sylvia fought off Bernal in a close race for the second seat. Marianne Stiles, a software engineer for Rockwell International, was last.

Bates attributed his victory to aggressive door-to-door campaigning and a core of about 30 volunteers, who supported his stand on congestion and helped canvass neighborhoods.

‘More Assertive’

“During my campaign I stressed that we, as a city, need to be more assertive while working (on) development of the race track and the golf course. Developers are talking of concentrated commercial and residential uses. We have to be very sensitive about having the area overbuilt because all that future traffic will eventually drop out onto Katella (Avenue), our main thoroughfare,” Bates said.

Measure A, which would almost double business taxes in Los Alamitos, passed overwhelmingly Tuesday night.

Voters also approved Measure B, which will consolidate city elections with state and national elections held in June and November. The measure could save the city an estimated $4,000 each election.

Backed by Council

The City Council, which had endorsed the election initiative on the sample ballot, contended that more voters would be brought to the polls and that Los Alamitos would save money by consolidating with state and national elections.

The measure will also allow the county registrar of voters to conduct all subsequent elections, said Rosalyn Lever, the county’s assistant registrar of voters.

Lever said this includes printing the ballots, monitoring polling places and tallying each vote.

Approval of Measure A, the business tax measure, will increase the city’s business license tax by 50% in each of the next two years, then 5% each year thereafter. The tax, first proposed to members of the Los Alamitos Chamber of Commerce in April, 1987, is determined by the number of employees a business has.

ELECTION RESULTS Winners in bold type Los Alamitos

7 of 7 precincts FINAL

City Council (2 to be elected)

Votes Percent Ron Bates 847 38.3 Paul Bernal, inc 484 21.9 Marianne Stiles 273 12.4 Charles E. Sylvia, inc 606 27.4

Measure A: Proposed increase in business tax: Shall the rates of business tax and the transfer and duplicate license fees imposed on businesses, trades and professions by chapter 11 of the code of the city of Los Alamitos be increased by an amount equal to 50% of the current rates for the fiscal year ’88-’89, by an amount equal to 50% of the fiscal year ’88-’89 rates for the fiscal year ’89-’90 and in an amount equal to 5% of the previous years’ rates for each subsequent year thereafter?

Votes Percent Yes 689 2.2 No 419 37.8

Measure B: Proposed charter amendment to consolidate city elections with county, state and national elections in June and November: Shall sections 906 and 908 of the charter of the city of Los Alamitos dealing with elections be repealed and shall section 906 be added to the charter of the city of Los Alamitos to read as follows: “The provisions of the law of the state of California applicable to general law cities as such laws now exist and as they may hereafter be amended or superseded shall in all respects govern elections in this city. (This would enable the city to change the election date.)

Votes Percent Yes 835 77.1 No 248 22.9

Voter turnout 23.5%