Barometer of Public Opinion

Part 1: SDI/CERC Barometer: Decline in Public's Job Approval of Mayor Jerry Sanders
Neither he nor City Attorney Mike Aguirre "win" from Sunroad Enterprise

• For Full Analysis by Competitive Edge, click here.
• The toplines for this section of the poll can be viewed and downloaded here.

Part 2: SDI/CERC Barometer: Most San Diego Homeowners Not Fazed By Recent Slump

• For Full Analysis by Competitive Edge, click here.
• The toplines for this section of the poll can be viewed and downloaded here.

SDI/CERC Barometer: Public supports raise for Firefighters; Public Safety top Budget Priority; No Change in Job Approval of Local Elected Officials

SAN DIEGO, CA: May 16, 2007 - The majority of San Diegans want to see San Diego firefighters receive a raise and many have specific ideas of where offsetting cuts can be made, according to polling information released today by the San Diego Institute for Policy Research (SDI).

In the latest SDI/CERC Public Opinion Barometer, 61 percent of San Diegans disagree with the Council and Mayor's decision not to give City firefighters a 2 percent raise. In contrast, only 33 percent agree with the decision to keep salaries frozen. When those favoring the raise were asked what they would cut to pay for the raise, 44 percent recommended either the City Council's or the Mayor's office budget. Eleven percent of respondents believed arts and cultural programs should be cut to pay for the raise while another 11 percent favored making offsetting reductions in the City's aquatics programs.

The high level of importance placed by the community on public safety is seen in other parts of the survey. When asked to prioritize various city functions, 88 percent of San Diegans responded by saying that it is extremely or very important to fully fund the Fire and Lifeguard Departments; 87 percent responded similarly about the Police Department. In contrast, only 40 percent ranked fully funding Arts and Cultural programs as extremely or very important, with a meager 27 percent placing as high an importance on public swimming pools.

"When asked to prioritize, the public recognizes public safety as the city's top concern," said Steven Francis, Chairman and Founder of the San Diego Institute for Policy Research. He went on to add, "When it comes to firefighter's salaries, the public seems to be saying that they wished City leaders had looked harder for cuts that could have been made to fund a small pay raise for the men and women of the San Diego Fire and Rescue Department."

SDI and CERC findings also show that the public's view of Mayor Jerry Sanders remains unchanged from March (64 percent approval rating in May versus 66 percent in March). Similarly, approval ratings for City Attorney Mike Aguirre (46.7 percent in May versus 49.4 percent in March) and the City Council (46.5 percent in May versus 49.3 percent in March) show no significant change over a two-month period.

One of the most significant May Barometer findings concerns the public's view of San Diego's fiscal situation. For the first time in 2007, the number of San Diegans who believe the City's fiscal situation is improving is now equal to the number who think it is getting worse. On the other hand, the percentage of San Diegans who believe the City is headed in the right direction has now dipped below 50 percent. The total number of San Diegans who reported this view is down 6 percent since the beginning of the year. In reviewing these results, pollster John Nienstedt took note of the interesting juxtaposition between growing optimism related to the City's finances and deterioration in overall sentiment as proof that righting the City's fiscal ship is painful. "The results on overall civic mood reflect the challenges of working through the city's financial problems," says Nienstedt.

SDI took note that nearly all the increase in positive opinions related to City finances originates with registered voters. Thirty-two percent of voters believe the City's finances are improving, while only 15 percent of non-voters agree. "What we're seeing is that voters are becoming 'believers' in the turnaround. That's significant because voters pay more attention and are the community's opinion leaders. They must buy-in before the rest of the population will come along," Nienstedt said.

The survey also shows support for making job reductions in the City's workforce. When informed that the Mayor's proposed budget would eliminate 671 positions, 47 percent indicated their support and only 35.5 percent expressed their opposition to the reductions. This survey reveals a big difference between the opinions of voters and non-voters as well, with the former much more likely to agree with making the proposed job eliminations and 28 percent strongly supporting this course of action. In stark contrast, only 15 percent of unregistered respondents strongly support the workforce cuts.

• The toplines for this section of the poll can be viewed and downloaded here.

In this analysis SDI's Pollster, John Nienstedt highlights key findings from SDI's March Barometer. Mr. Nienstedt's findings include:

• A statistically significant dip in Mayor Sanders approval ratings as well as in-depth examination of the how the public's approval of the City Council and the City Attorney vary by different groups. [analysis]
  
  
• How views about the importance of crime as a municipal issue vary according to ethnicity, income, and geographic location. [analysis]
  
  
• How support for the Water and Sewer rates correlates with civic mood. [analysis]
  
  
• The toplines for this section of the poll can be viewed and downloaded here.

In the second analysis of SDI/CERC's Barometer, Mr. Neinstedt examines how different segments of the county's population feel about the Chargers and the proposal to construct a new stadium. [Analysis]

• The toplines for this section of the poll can be viewed and downloaded here.

These questions were asked of 1000 adults throughout San Diego County during the first week of March 2007.

In the third set of questions released from SDI/CERC's Barometer, we look at residents views of the region's economic development efforts. [Full Analysis] [For Toplines]

SDI is pleased to release all toplines and analyses of its 2007 Barometer of Public Opinon. In early January, SDI surveyed 500 San Diegans.
Highlights of the findings include:

• Continued support for Mayor Jerry Sanders [analysis]
  
  
• A willingness among citizens to consider selling significant city real estate assets to deal with the city's fiscal crisis. [analysis]
  
  
• Their disagreement with the San Diego City Council over the proposed restrictions on Wal-Mart superstores. [analysis]
  
  
• An eagerness to switch City employees to a 401K style retirement plan [analysis]
  
  
• The toplines for the poll can be viewed and downloaded here.