By STEVEN LUO
Beat Political Director

If there is an anti-tax mood in the electorate, it sure didn’t show in Tuesday’s elections in the Bay Area.

Of 29 tax increases and bond measures placed before the electorate in the Bay Area, 22 passed, including most measures requiring a two-thirds majority.

The popularity of measures asking voters to tax others might not have been surprising. Measures to increase taxes on hotel stays in Brisbane, Burlingame, Millbrae, San Anselmo, San Bruno, San Mateo, and South San Francisco all passed with large majorities.

But even excluding those measures, more than two-thirds of the tax hikes, bond measures, and newly proposed taxes on the ballot — 15 of 22 — were approved by voters.

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Measures supporting schools proved popular with voters Tuesday. Parcel tax measures in the Albany Unified School District, Acalanes Union High School District, Walnut Creek School District, Lagunitas Elementary School District, and Larkspur School District were all approved, along with school facilities bond measures in the Mill Valley School District and Shoreline Unified School District.

Parcel tax and most bond measures require two-thirds approval, though school bond measures require a smaller 55% majority.

Only voters in Santa Clara County bucked the trend, with parcel tax measures in the Santa Clara Unified School District and Fremont High School District falling short of the two-thirds mark despite achieving large majorities.

Cities looking to voters to help balance their budgets received more mixed results, though even here a majority of measures — 7 of 12 — passed, with one measure still too close to call.

A measure to impose a utility users tax in Newark served as a stark reminder that every single vote counts, with the No side ahead of the Yes side by only eight votes in election night totals. Additional provisional and absentee ballots have yet to be counted and will likely decide the race.

Other utility users taxes in Cupertino, Vallejo, and Portola Valley passed with large majorities.

Voters also approved a sales tax in San Mateo and parcel taxes in Fairfax and Atherton, but rejected a sales tax intended to support emergency services in San Carlos. A San Rafael bond measure for infrastructure upgrades for emergency services achieved a large majority, but fell short of the two-thirds approval required.

New or increased business license taxes were rejected by majorities in Palo Alto and Redwood City, though voters in Emeryville did approve a business license tax on the city’s card rooms.

Experts expressed surprise at the results — voters are notoriously reluctant to tax themselves, especially in a recession.

San Jose State political science professor Larry Gerston told KCBS radio that Tuesday’s results might cause other local governments, strapped for cash and squeezed by state budget cuts, to ask voters for increased funding.

E-mail Steven Luo at californiabeat@gmail.com. Join the California Beat on Facebook, and get breaking news headlines, story alerts and previews when you follow us on Twitter.