1998 California elections

California's state elections were held November 3, 1998. Necessary primary elections were held on March 3. Up for election were all the seats of the California State Assembly, 20 seats of the California Senate, seven constitutional officers, all the seats of the California Board of Equalization, as well as votes on retention of two Supreme Court justices and various appeals court judges. Twelve ballot measures were also up for approval. Municipal offices were also included in the election.

Constitutional Offices

Governor

Final results from Secretary of State.

1998 California gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Gray Davis		58.0
		Dan Lungren		38.4
		Dan Hamburg		1.2
		Steve Kubby		0.9
		Gloria Estela LaRiva		0.7
		Nathan E. Johnson		0.5
		Harold H. Bloomfield		0.4
	No party	Write-ins	21	0.0
Invalid or blank votes			235,925	2.74
Total votes				100.0
Turnout				41.4
	gain from

Lieutenant governor

Final results from the Secretary of State of California

1998 Lieutenant Governor of California election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Cruz Bustamante		52.7
		Tim Leslie		38.8
		Sara Amir		3.0
		Thomas Tryon		2.1
		Jaime Luis Gomez		1.4
		George McCoy		1.1
		James Mangia		0.9
Invalid or blank votes			477,780	5.54
Total votes				100.0
Turnout				41.4
	hold

Secretary of State

Final results from the Secretary of State of California.

1998 California Secretary of State election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Bill Jones (incumbent)		47.00
		Michela Alioto		45.89
		Gail Lightfoot		2.69
		Jane Ann Bialosky		1.29
		Carolyn Rae Short		1.25
		Israel Feuer		0.98
		Valli Sharpe-Geisler		0.91
Invalid or blank votes			568,173	6.59
Total votes				100.00
Turnout				41.4
	hold

Controller

Final results from the Secretary of State of California.

1998 California State Controller election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Kathleen Connell (incumbent)		60.91
		Ruben Barrales		33.14
		Pamela Pescosolido		1.84
		Alfred "Al" L. Burgess		1.36
		Denise L. Jackson		1.26
		C. T. Weber		0.86
		Iris Adam		0.64
Invalid or blank votes			615,344	7.14
Total votes				100.00
Turnout				41.4
	hold

Treasurer

Final results from the Secretary of State of California.

1998 California State Treasurer election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Phil Angelides		52.60
		Curt Pringle		39.90
		John Petersen		2.32
		Carlos Aguirre		2.18
		Jan B. Tucker		1.85
		Edmon V. Kaiser		1.16
Invalid or blank votes			700,710	8.13
Total votes				100.00
Turnout				41.4
	gain from

Attorney general

Final results from the Secretary of State of California.

1998 California Attorney General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Bill Lockyer		51.50
		Dave Stirling		42.38
		Diane Beall Templin		2.43
		Joseph S. Farina		1.87
		Robert J. Evans		1.82
Invalid or blank votes			623,387	7.23
Total votes				100.0
Turnout				41.4
	gain from

Insurance Commissioner

Final results from the Secretary of State of California.

1998 California Insurance Commissioner election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Chuck Quackenbush (incumbent)		49.86
		Diane Martinez		43.80
		Dale F. Ogden		2.11
		Barbara Bourdette		1.63
		Gary R. Ramos		1.44
		Merton D. Short		1.16
Invalid or blank votes			585,084	6.79
Total votes				100.0
Turnout				41.4
	hold

Board of Equalization

Final results from the California Secretary of State:^[1]

Overview

California Board of Equalization elections, 1998
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	3,974,343	55.79%	2	0
	Republican	2,507,252	35.19%	2	0
	Libertarian	509,288	7.15%	0	0
	Peace and Freedom	75,012	1.05%	0	0
	Green	58,480	0.82%	0	0
Invalid or blank votes		1,596,255	18.30%	—	—
Totals		8,720,630	100.00%	4	—

District 1

1998 State Board of Equalization District 1 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Johan Klehs (incumbent)		78.42
		Kennita Watson		21.58
Invalid or blank votes			665,707	26.60
Total votes				100.00
Turnout
	hold

District 2

1998 State Board of Equalization District 2 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Dean Andal (incumbent)		55.20
		Tom Y. Santos		44.80
Invalid or blank votes			377,911	16.68
Total votes				100.00
Turnout
	hold

District 3

1998 State Board of Equalization District 3 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Claude Parrish		53.10
		Mary Christian-Heising		41.66
		J. R. Graham		3.69
		Maxine Bell Quirk		1.54
Invalid or blank votes			357,795	15.60
Total votes				100.00
Turnout
	hold

District 4

1998 State Board of Equalization District 4 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		John Chiang		60.23
		Joe H. Adams, Jr.		29.86
		Glenn Trujillo Bailey		3.99
		Shirley Rachel Isaacson		3.08
		William R. Jennings		2.84
Invalid or blank votes			194,842	11.75
Total votes				100.00
Turnout
	hold

Judicial system

Supreme Court of California

Final results from the California Secretary of State:^[2]

Chief Justice Ronald George
Vote on retention	Votes	%
Yes	4,656,520	75.49%
No	1,511,953	24.51%
Invalid	2,452,648	28.45%
Total votes	8,621,121	100.0%
Majority	3,144,567	49.98%
Turnout

File:1998 California Supreme Court Chief Justice Retention election results map by county.svg

Chief Justice Retention results by county

Associate Justice Janice Rogers Brown, Seat 1
Vote on retention	Votes	%
Yes	4,376,553	75.91%
No	1,389,053	24.09%
Invalid	2,855,515	33.12%
Total votes	8,621,121	100.0%
Majority	987,500	51.82%
Turnout

File:1998 California Supreme Court Seat 1 Retention election results map by county.svg

Supreme Court Seat 1 Retention results by county

Associate Justice Ming Chin, Seat 2
Vote on retention	Votes	%
Yes	4,203,767	69.26%
No	1,865,420	30.74%
Invalid	2,551,934	29.60%
Total votes	8,621,121	100.0%
Majority	2,338,347	38.42%
Turnout

File:1998 California Supreme Court Seat 2 Retention election results map by county.svg

Supreme Court Seat 2 Retention results by county

Associate Justice Stanley Mosk, Seat 3
Vote on retention	Votes	%
Yes	4,158,457	70.51%
No	1,739,471	29.49%
Invalid	2,723,193	31.59%
Total votes	8,621,121	100.0%
Majority	2,418,986	45.2%
Turnout

File:1998 California Supreme Court Seat 3 Retention election results map by county.svg

Supreme Court Seat 3 Retention results by county

California Courts of Appeal

See 1998 California Courts of Appeal election.

California State Legislature elections

State Senate

There are 40 seats in the State Senate. For this election, candidates running in even-numbered districts ran for four-year terms.

California State Senate - 1998		Seats
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic-Held	23
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican-Held	16
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Independent Held	1
1998 Elections
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic Held and Uncontested	8
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Contested	20
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican Held and Uncontested	11
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Independent Held and Uncontested	1
Total		40

State Assembly

All 80 biennially elected seats of the State Assembly were up for election this year. Each seat has a two-year term. The Democrats retained control of the State Assembly.

California State Assembly - 1998		Seats
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic-Held	43
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican-Held	37
1998 Elections
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic Incumbent and Uncontested	32
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican Incumbent and Uncontested	23
style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Contested, Open Seats	25
Total		80

Statewide ballot propositions

Twelve ballot propositions qualified to be listed on the general election ballot in California. Eight measures passed while four failed.

Proposition 1A

Proposition 1A would provide for a bond of $9.2 billion for funding for at least four years for class size reduction, to relieve overcrowding and accommodate student enrollment growth and to repair older schools and for wiring and cabling for education technology; and to upgrade and build new classrooms in California Community Colleges, California State University, and University of California systems. Proposition 1A passed with 62.5% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 1A results map by county.svg

Proposition 1A results by county

Proposition 1

Proposition 1 would amend Article XIII A of the Constitution, added by Proposition 13, to allow repair or replacement of environmentally-contaminated property or structures without increasing the tax valuation of original or replacement property. Proposition 1 passed with 71.1% of the vote.

File:1998 California Proposition 1 results map by county.svg

Proposition 1 results by county

Proposition 2

Proposition 2 would impose repayment conditions on loans of transportation revenues to the General Fund and local entities; and designate local transportation funds as trust funds and require a transportation purpose for their use. Proposition 2 passed with 75.4% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 2 results map by county.svg

Proposition 2 results by county

Proposition 3

Proposition 3 would change existing open primary law to require closed, partisan primaries for purposes of selecting delegates to national presidential nominating conventions, limiting voting for such delegates to voters registered by political party. Proposition 3 failed with 46.1% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 3 results map by county.svg

Proposition 3 results by county

Proposition 4

Proposition 4 would prohibit trapping fur-bearing or non-game mammals with specified traps, such as poison and steel-jawed leghold traps, and would prohibit commerce in fur of such animals. Proposition 4 passed with 57.5% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 4 results map by county.svg

Proposition 4 results by county

Proposition 5

Proposition 5 would specify terms and conditions of mandatory compact between state and Indian tribes for gambling on tribal land. Proposition 5 passed with 62.4% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 5 results map by county.svg

Proposition 5 results by county

Proposition 6

Proposition 6 would make possession, transfer, or receipt of horses for slaughter for human consumption a felony, and would make the sale of horse meat for human consumption a misdemeanor. Proposition 6 passed with 59.4% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 6 results map by county.svg

Proposition 6 results by county

Proposition 7

Proposition 7 would authorize $218 million in state tax credits annually, until January 2011, to encourage air-emissions reductions through the acquisition, conversion, and retrofitting of vehicles and equipment. Proposition 7 failed with 43.6% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 7 results map by county.svg

Proposition 7 results by county

Proposition 8

Proposition 8 called for permanent class size reduction funding for districts establishing parent-teacher councils, testing for teacher credentialing, and pupil suspension for drug possession. Proposition 8 failed with 36.8% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 8 results map by county.svg

Proposition 8 results by county

Proposition 9

Proposition 9 would prohibit assessment of taxes, bonds, and surcharges to pay costs of nuclear power plants. Proposition 9 failed with 26.5% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 9 results map by county.svg

Proposition 9 results by county

Proposition 10

Proposition 10 would create state and county commissions to establish early childhood development and smoking prevention programs, and impose additional taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products. Proposition 10 passed with 50.5% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 10 results map by county.svg

Proposition 10 results by county

Proposition 11

Proposition 11 would authorize local governments to voluntarily enter into sales tax revenue sharing agreements by a two-thirds vote of the local city council or board of supervisors of each participating jurisdiction. Proposition 11 passed with 53.4% approval.

File:1998 California Proposition 11 results map by county.svg

Proposition 11 results by county

See also

• California State Legislature
• California State Assembly
• California State Senate
• Districts in California
• Political party strength in U.S. states
• Political party strength in California
• Elections in California

External links

• "A directory of California state propositions"
• Official election results from the California Secretary of State
• California Legislative District Maps (1911-Present)
• RAND California Election Returns: District Definitions