From the Director - Election Results: I-933 Defeated

Voters have strongly rejected Initiative 933 regarding property rights.

As of November 16, nearly 59% voted against the measure. Many cities had adopted resolutions opposing I-933 given the proposed drastic changes in land use practices and associated costs to local governments. While the "NO" vote was significant, we expect the Legislature to review and potentially address some of the issues identified in the I-933 campaign. AWC has already met with the Governor’s Office and some legislators on the property rights issues. We will be an active participant in these discussions.

The voters also rejected Initiative 920 regarding the Estate Tax and appear to have approved Initiative 937 regarding Energy Resources.

The Democrats, who already controlled both the State Senate and House, appear to have picked up a number of seats in both chambers. Senate Democrats retained all of their incumbent seats and added 6 giving them a total of 32 with 17 Republicans. There are 9 new Senators, five who have previous experience in the House. The last time the Senate Democrats held 32 seats was in 1965.

House Democrats appear to have also picked up 6 seats, although some races remain close and this number could move up or down in the coming weeks. Six new seats would provide the Democrats with a 62-36 majority in the House. Democrats last held more than 60 seats in the House in 1994 with 65 seats.

In the past, strong majorities in either party have resulted in aggressive broad legislative agendas. Many legislative leaders in both the Senate and House have already indicated they will be cautious and target specific issues in 2007. While the new Democrat and Republican caucuses meet to refine their priorities, the Governor remains focused on education, health care and economic development. She has been working with the Legislature on these priorities during the interim and we fully expect strong coordination between the two branches throughout 2007.

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