Voters in Kansas City approved a ballot measure on a $1 billion airport project to build a new privately financed airport in the city. The fate of the current 45-year-old airport has been a question for years as the city debated whether to renovate or demolish.

Supporters of the new project said the airport had outlived its usefulness and presented the city in a poor light to travelers. The ballot measure was approved by a 3-to-1 margin.

In St. Louis, voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase for police and fire funding. St. Louis County recently approved similar funding and City officials persuaded voters the tax increase was necessary to have competitive wages.

Voters in Kansas City approved a ballot measure on a $1 billion airport project to build a new privately financed airport in the city. The fate of the current 45-year-old airport has been a question for years as the city debated whether to renovate or demolish.

Supporters of the new project said the airport had outlived its usefulness and presented the city in a poor light to travelers. The ballot measure was approved by a 3-to-1 margin.

In St. Louis, voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase for police and fire funding. St. Louis County recently approved similar funding and City officials persuaded voters the tax increase was necessary to have competitive wages.

Voters rejected a ballot measure Tuesday to reduce the price of prescription drugs for the state.

Issue 2, or Drug Price Relief Act, would have limited the amount the state is allowed to pay for pharmaceuticals to the amount the Department of Veterans Affairs pays, typically a greatly discounted price. The state provides these drugs to prisoners, injured workers, and those who cannot afford them.

Nearly 80 percent of voters rejected the proposal, many citing a lack of transparency on how the change would affect prices for the general public.

The pharmaceutical industry contributed around $70 million to oppose the measure while AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a California-based group, spent only $17 million.

Voters rejected a ballot measure Tuesday to reduce the price of prescription drugs for the state.

Issue 2, or Drug Price Relief Act, would have limited the amount the state is allowed to pay for pharmaceuticals to the amount the Department of Veterans Affairs pays, typically a greatly discounted price. The state provides these drugs to prisoners, injured workers, and those who cannot afford them.

Nearly 80 percent of voters rejected the proposal, many citing a lack of transparency on how the change would affect prices for the general public.

The pharmaceutical industry contributed around $70 million to oppose the measure while AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a California-based group, spent only $17 million.

Maine voters approved a ballot measure to expand access to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Maine is the first state to settle the issue by referendum as Republican Gov. Paul LePage vetoed expanding Medicaid access five times.

Additionally, voters approved ballot measures relating to infrastructure bonds and pension funding and rejected a ballot measure allowing casino or slots in York County.

Maine voters approved a ballot measure to expand access to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Maine is the first state to settle the issue by referendum as Republican Gov. Paul LePage vetoed expanding Medicaid access five times.

Additionally, voters approved ballot measures relating to infrastructure bonds and pension funding and rejected a ballot measure allowing casino or slots in York County.

On Tuesday, Texans voted to loosen some home lending regulations in place since the foreclosure crisis.

By a two-thirds margin, the ballot measure expanding who can make a home equity loan and allowing homeowners to convert home equity loans into conventional mortgage loans was approved.

The measure was widely opposed by fair housing advocates and supported by lenders and the real estate industry. This is the second time in the last five years Texans have voted in favor of more relaxed lending laws.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, voters overwhelmingly approved a $1.05 billion bond package focused on repairing the city’s infrastructure and recreational amenities.

On Tuesday, Texans voted to loosen some home lending regulations in place since the foreclosure crisis.

By a two-thirds margin, the ballot measure expanding who can make a home equity loan and allowing homeowners to convert home equity loans into conventional mortgage loans was approved.

The measure was widely opposed by fair housing advocates and supported by lenders and the real estate industry. This is the second time in the last five years Texans have voted in favor of more relaxed lending laws.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, voters overwhelmingly approved a $1.05 billion bond package focused on repairing the city’s infrastructure and recreational amenities.

New York voters rejected a ballot question calling for a constitutional convention. If passed, a constitutional convention would have been set for 2019 and would have allowed a total review of the New York Constitution. The question is automatically added to the ballot every 20 years.

On the other hand, voters approved a proposal revoking the pension of a public official convicted of a felony and another proposal creating a forest preserve land bank for qualifying local projects.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio won a second term as Mayor. De Blasio’s victory marks the first time in 32 years a Democratic mayor was re-elected in New York City.

Additionally, Democrat Byron Brown won his fourth term as Mayor of Buffalo.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam will be Virginia’s next governor after defeating former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie.

In what was expected to be a close race, Lt. Gov. Northam won by nearly nine points, the largest margin of victory in decades for a Virginia governor.

By winning over a large number of suburban voters, who typically lean Republican, the resounding win is seen by many as a rebuke of President Trump.

Northam will be joined by fellow Democrats Justin Fairfax and Mark Herring, who easily won races for lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Vi Lyles defeated Kenny Smith to become Charlotte’s next mayor.

Lyles captured 59 percent of the vote with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

Lyles will become the first African-American woman to become mayor of Charlotte.

Jenny Durkan is expected to defeat Cary Moon and become Seattle’s next mayor.

With 39 percent of the vote tallied, Durkan captured 61 percent of the vote Tuesday night.

Durkan is a former U.S. Attorney General and Seattle’s first female mayor since the 1920s.

Photo of Jenny Durkan By Dennis Bratland via Wikimedia Commons

Democrat Phil Murphy was elected as New Jersey’s 56th governor.

Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive and U.S. Ambassador to Germany, may impact Congress if he appoints a replacement for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez.

Menendez is currently on trial for corruption charges and the jury began deliberations on November 6, 2017.  If convicted, Menendez will face pressure to step down allowing a Democrat, opposed to exiting Republican Gov. Chris Christie, to appoint a replacement.

Murphy is set to take office on January 16, 2018.

Gov. Rick Scott signed an executive order calling for a special election to replace state Sen. Jeff Clemens.

A special primary will be held on January 30, 2018, with a special general election to follow on April 10. Clemens resigned his Senate District 31 seat on October 27 after reports stated he had an extramarital affair with a lobbyist.

The winner of the election will serve the remainder of Clemens’s term, running through election day in 2020.