LOS ANGELES - In a vote colored by mayoral campaign politics, the City Council on Friday rejected for a second time a proposal that would have asked voters to consider raising the sales tax to put more police on the beat. The ballot proposal was defeated 9-6 - one short of the 10 votes needed to place it before voters. The proposal, pushed by Mayor James Hahn, called for raising the sales tax a half-cent, to 8.75 percent, to hire more officers and fund public-safety programs. The council rejected the same measure earlier this week by an identical vote. With...