Voters preserve status quo on state Board of Equalization
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Reporting from Sacramento — California voters preserved the status quo in the state tax authority this week, electing two Democrats and two Republicans as board members.
The election gives Democrats a majority on the country’s only elected tax commission because another party member, Betty Yee, won her race for state controller, who fills the fifth seat on the board.
The Board of Equalization carries out tax policies and considers appeals from businesses and residents.
Besides the controller, the other four members are elected to represent vast districts, each with about 9.5 million Californians.
Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, a Republican from Dana Point, beat Nader Shahatit, a Democrat from Highland and an auditor for the board.
Jerome Horton, a Los Angeles Democrat, won another term on the board by defeating Republican G. Rick Marshall, who qualified for the general election as a write-in candidate in the June primary.
Fiona Ma, a Democratic former assemblywoman and San Francisco supervisor, trounced James E. Theis, a Republican from Hollister who works at an organic foods company.
Democrat Chris Parker, a tax attorney at a different state agency, came the closest to beating an incumbent, winning just over 41% of the vote in his district, which includes much of inland California, from San Bernardino to Modoc counties. But Parker still lost to George Runner, a Republican and former legislator.
Yee, who has been on the board since 2004, won her race for controller by defeating Ashley Swearengin, the Republican mayor of Fresno.
@chrismegerian
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