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# Horne leads in city council race, sales tax increase doomed for third time in four years
- URL: https://www.hermosareview.com/horne-leads-in-city-council-race-sales-tax-increase-doomed-for-third-time-in-four-years/
- Published: 2026-11-04T15:48:27.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T15:50:03.000Z
- Description: Horne will become the youngest elected official in recent city history. Failure of Measure HB leaves the city facing tough choices as the budget deficit looms.
- Author: Hermosa Review

Eric Horne led the six-candidate field for three Hermosa Beach City Council seats in semi-official returns early Wednesday, while Measure HB, the city's proposed half-cent sales tax, trailed by 817 votes, putting it on track to become the third local sales tax increase Hermosa voters have rejected since 2022.

Both contests remain unofficial. An estimated 4,000 ballots remain to be counted. With Measure HB trailing by 817 votes and Jackson leading Worner by 740, the outcomes are highly unlikely to change. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder has 30 days to certify results.

## City Council

Voters were asked to choose up to three candidates for four-year, at-large terms. As of the latest semi-official count:

| Candidate                   | Votes | Share  |
| --------------------------- | ----- | ------ |
| Eric Horne                  | 3,657 | 24.31% |
| Maggie Bove-LaMonica        | 3,114 | 20.70% |
| Raymond Jackson (incumbent) | 2,807 | 18.66% |
| Elka Worner                 | 2,067 | 13.74% |
| Rob Saemann (incumbent)     | 1,717 | 11.41% |
| Dean Francois (incumbent)   | 1,681 | 11.17% |

If the order holds, Horne and Bove-LaMonica, a Hermosa Beach City School District board member, would join the council, and Councilmember Jackson would keep his seat. Jackson leads Worner, a Parks and Recreation commissioner, by 740 votes for the third seat.

Councilmembers Saemann and Francois, who sit fifth and sixth, would leave the council. The two are separated by 36 votes.

## Measure HB

Measure HB would have added a half-cent local transactions and use tax, raising an estimated $2 million a year until ended by voters, with groceries and prescription medicine exempt. It needs a simple majority to pass.

| Measure HB | Votes | Share  |
| ---------- | ----- | ------ |
| No         | 3,406 | 56.81% |
| Yes        | 2,589 | 43.19% |

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

This year's measure was smaller than its predecessors. Voters rejected a three-quarter-cent tax, Measure B, in November 2022 by 55.2% to 44.8%, and a second three-quarter-cent tax, also lettered Measure HB, in November 2024 by 57.37% to 42.63%.

The ballot argument in favor of this year's measure was signed by Councilmembers Michael Keegan and Saemann and by Bove-LaMonica. The argument against was signed by Councilmember Francois, former Mayor George Barks and three local small business owners.

With the tax failing, the incoming council will take up the city's projected deficits without the roughly $2 million a year the measure was expected to raise.

*Results are semi-official and will change as the county processes remaining ballots. The Hermosa Review will update this story.*