Public Research
I've Been Called
Paid Research Opportunity
Competitive Edge conducts in-person paid research. San Diego County residents only, please complete our Potential Respondent form if you would like to be contacted.
Opinion Barometer May 2007
Public wanted raise for Firefighters; Public Safety top Budget Priority; No Change in Job Approval of Local Elected Officials
A large Majority of San Diegans want to see San Diego firefighters receive a raise and many have specific ideas of were offsetting cuts can be made. 61% of San Diegan disagree with the Council and Mayor’s decision not to give City firefighters a 2% raise. Only 33% 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% said either the City Council’s or the Mayor’s office budget. Eleven percent believed arts and cultural programs should be cut to pay for the raise while another 11% favored making offsetting reductions in the City’s aquatics programs. The abundant importance the public places on public safety is seen in other parts of the survey. Asked to prioritize various city functions 88% of San Diegans say it is extremely or very important to fully fund the Fire and Lifeguard Departments and 87% say the same about the Police Department.
SDI and CERC also finds that the public’s view of Mayor Jerry Sanders remains unchanged from March (64% approval rating in May versus 66% in March). In a similar vein, City Attorney Mike Aguirre’s and the City Council’s approval ratings show no significant change, compared to March.
One of the most interesting findings from the May Barometer concerns the public’s view of San Diego’s fiscal situation. For the first time in 2007, slightly more San Diegan’s believe the City’s fiscal situation is now improving than getting worse. On the other hand, the percentage of San Diegans saying that things are headed in the right direction has now dipped below 50%. That is down 6% since the beginning of the year.
About the SDIPR/Competitive Edge Opinion Barometer
This survey was conducted by Competitive Edge Research & Communication (CERC) in conjunction with the San Diego Institute for Policy Research (SDIPR). SDIPR and CERC jointly determined the issues to be covered in this survey. SDIPR provided CERC with background information on the issues to be researched and both entities discussed the topics in order to produce an effective questionnaire. Final responsibility for all questions, the data collection and the analysis presented herein rests with CERC.
These findings are based on a random sample of 1000 County of San Diego residents. The interviewing was conducted March 1st through the 6th in English and Spanish from CERC’s San Diego facility. Professional interviewers were specifically trained for this project. The duration of the average interview was 16 minutes. The random digit dial sample was provided by Scientific Telephone Samples of Foothill Ranch, CA. After collecting the data, results were weighted on the voter registration, gender and age variables to CERC’s estimates of the overall San Diego County population gathered from the US Census and the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.
Sampling Error
According to statistical theory, the confidence level associated with a sample of this type is such that, with a question where the respondents answer 50% “yes” and 50% “no,” 95% of the time the results are within plus or minus 3.2% of the true value, where true value refers to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every possible qualified respondent. The degree of error is reduced when responses have larger (e.g. 60%-40%, 70%-30%) percentage differences. Conversely, the margin of error increases when a subset of the entire 1000 responses is analyzed.
In addition to error introduced by sampling variability, there are many other possible sources of bias such as how a question is worded, the question sequence, or individual interviewer techniques. Competitive Edge does everything in its power to minimize these potential sources of bias.
A survey of this type is a good measure of current attitudes that may change over time. This survey should not necessarily serve as an unqualified predictor of events, but, as an indicator to the situation in early March, 2007.
Media contact:
John Nienstedt 619-702-2372 x307
