ALLEGHENY COUNTY 1998 PRIMARY ELECTION VOTER SURVEY

Columnist : Lincoln Institute

1.) Are you aware of a proposal which will appear on the May 19th Primary Election ballot to allow Allegheny County voters to adopt a Home Rule Charter, to change the structure of county government?

54% VERY AWARE
34% SOMEWHAT AWARE
11% UNAWARE
1% REFUSED

2.) If the election were held today, would you vote FOR or AGAINST adoption of a Home Rule Charter to change the structure of county government?

34% FOR
30% AGAINST
33% DON’T KNOW
2% REFUSED

3.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE a provision in the proposed Home Rule Charter which would abolish the current three member Board of County Commissioners and replace it with a single elected County Executive and a 15 member unpaid County Council?

30% STRONGLY FAVOR
17% SOMEWHAT FAVOR
12% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE
20% STRONGLY OPPOSE
20% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

4.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE a provision in the proposed Home Rule Charter which gives voters the right to force the County Council to consider issues by initiative, and the right to place issues before the voters via ballot referendum?

49% STRONGLY FAVOR
22% SOMEWHAT FAVOR
4% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE
5% STRONGLY OPPOSE
18% NO OPINION
2% REFUSED

5.) The proposed Home Rule Charter does not change the current system of elected county “row” offices, such as Clerk of Courts, Prothonotary, Register of Wills, etc. Do you think such offices should be consolidated?

36% YES
41% NO
22% NO OPINION
2% REFUSED

6.) Do you think county “row” offices, such as Clerk of Courts, Prothonotary, Register of Wills, Etc., should be abolished as elected positions and replaced by appointed administrators?

28% YES
52% NO
20% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

7.) Should the current Regional Assets District Tax, which adds 1% to the sales tax charged in Allegheny, be retained or abolished?

27% RETAINED
62% ABOLISHED
10% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

8.) Generally speaking, do you think sports stadiums should be paid for with public (tax) money, or should they be financed privately?

10% PUBLIC
77% PRIVATE
12% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

9.) There is a proposal to use revenue from the Regional Assets District tax to pay for construction of two new stadiums, one for the Steelers and one for the Pirates. Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE the use of current tax revenue to pay for construction of these stadiums?

27% FAVOR
68% OPPOSE
3% NO OPINION
2% REFUSED

10.) How important do you think sports stadiums are to a region’s overall economic growth?

34% VERY IMPORTANT
49% SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT
15% NOT IMPORTANT
1% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

11.) Did you attend a Pirates or Steelers game last year?

44% YES
56% NO

12.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE paying for the construction of a new Convention Center in Pittsburgh using revenue from existing hotel taxes?

68% FAVOR
24% OPPOSE
8% NO OPINION

13.) Who is to blame most for this region’s slow economic growth?

14% CORPORATIONS
37% GOVERNMENT POLICIES
13% UNION PRACTICES AND ATTITUDES
2% NONE OF THE ABOVE
24% ALL OF THE ABOVE
9% DON’T KNOW
1% REFUSED

14.) Has someone in your family been forced to relocate from this region for economic (job) reasons?

30% YES
69% NO
1% NO OPINION

15.) Do you think this region’s high tax reputation is hurting job creation and economic growth?

77% YES
20% NO
4% NO OPINION

16.) Do you think deregulation of the electricity business, ie: giving consumers a choice of electric companies, will result in fewer price hikes?

34% YES
46% NO
19% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

17.) Do you think this region’s pro-union reputation is hurting job creation and economic growth?

48% YES
41% NO
10% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

18.) Do you favor the outsourcing of government services to private companies if that would save taxpayers money?

64% YES
24% NO
12% NO OPINION

19.) Do you favor legislation that would forbid unions from automatically deducting money, without their permission, from unionized workers paychecks then use that money for political purposes?

66% YES
29% NO
5% NO OPINION

20.) Generally speaking, do you have a POSITIVE or NEGATIVE view of the job being done by Allegheny County Commissioner Mike Dawida?

 42% POSITIVE
36% NEGATIVE
20% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

21.) Generally speaking, do you have a POSITIVE or NEGATIVE view of the job being done by Allegheny County Commissioner Larry Dunn?

36% POSITIVE
43% NEGATIVE
20% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

22.) Generally speaking, do you have a POSITIVE or NEGATIVE view of the job being done by Allegheny County Commissioner Bob Cramner?

28% POSITIVE
48% NEGATIVE
22% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

23.) Generally speaking, do you have a POSITIVE or NEGATIVE view of the job being done by Governor Tom Ridge?

51% POSITIVE
37% NEGATIVE
12% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

24.) Generally speaking, do you have a POSITIVE or NEGATIVE view of the job being done by U.S. Senator Arlen Specter?

62% POSITIVE
27% NEGATIVE
10% NO OPINION
1% REFUSED

25.) Generally speaking, do you have a POSITIVE or NEGATIVE view of the job being done by U.S. Senator Rick Santorum?

55% POSITIVE
35% NEGATIVE
9% NO OPINION
1% REFUISED

This survey of 327 likely Primary Election voters in Allegheny County was conducted for the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc. by Precision Marketing, Inc. of Easton Pennsylvania from April 27, 1998 thru April 19, 1998.