Hermosa Beach voters appear to have killed a proposed sales tax increase for the third time in four years. Two challengers also lead the City Council race, according to semi-official results from the Nov. 3 election.

Measure HB, a half-cent sales tax that would have raised about $2 million a year for city services, trailed with 43.48% support and 56.52% opposition as of a Nov. 4 afternoon update from the Los Angeles County registrar's office, the Daily Breeze reported. That update counted 6,456 votes: 3,649 against and 2,807 in favor.

The measure needed a simple majority to pass.

Ballots remain uncounted, including vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day that have not yet arrived, plus provisional and conditional ballots. But with Measure HB trailing by more than 800 votes, the Hermosa Review reported the outcome is "highly unlikely to change." An estimated 4,000 ballots remain to be counted, according to the Hermosa Review.

The registrar is tentatively scheduled to certify results on Nov. 27.

A pattern of rejection

Hermosa Beach voters rejected a three-quarter-cent sales tax, Measure B, in November 2022 by a 55.2%-to-44.8% margin, according to the Hermosa Review. A second three-quarter-cent tax, also called Measure HB, failed in November 2024 by 57.37% to 42.63%.

This year's version was smaller. The City Council voted 4-1 on July 28 to place it on the ballot, citing projected structural deficits and rising costs for county services, the Hermosa Review reported. A city-commissioned survey in May found 55% support for a one-cent tax after respondents heard arguments against it.

Councilmembers Michael Keegan and Rob Saemann and school board member Maggie Bove-LaMonica signed the ballot argument in favor. Councilmember Dean Francois, former Mayor George Barks and three local small business owners signed the argument against, according to the Hermosa Review.

Council race

In the six-candidate race for three at-large council seats, challenger Eric Horne led with 3,657 votes (24.31%), followed by Bove-LaMonica with 3,114 (20.70%) and incumbent Councilmember Ray Jackson with 2,807 (18.66%), according to the Hermosa Review's semi-official tally. The Measure HB figures above reflect a later registrar update than the council vote totals.

Elka Worner, a Parks and Recreation commissioner, sat fourth with 2,067 votes (13.74%). She trailed Jackson by 740 votes for the final seat. Incumbents Saemann and Francois finished fifth and sixth, separated by 36 votes, according to the Hermosa Review.

If the order holds, Saemann and Francois would lose their seats.

Horne is the California director for Megafire Action and previously served in the Peace Corps. Jackson, a retired U.S. Army colonel, also serves on the California Coastal Commission. Bove-LaMonica has served 13 years on the Hermosa Beach City School District board, according to the Daily Breeze.

Budget pressure ahead

The incoming council will face the city's fiscal problems without the roughly $2 million a year the tax was expected to generate. Hermosa Beach required $4.5 million in spending reductions, deferrals and operational changes this year to address a structural budget deficit, according to the Daily Breeze. The city also faces a potential $3.2 million deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Major capital projects loom, including pier maintenance or replacement and a new city yard.