Sometimes politicians commission polls to find out what people really think. Other times, they commission polls hoping for a certain result. These poll results regarding the Santa Fe mayoral race, just released by the reelection campaign of Mayor David Coss, probably reflect a bit of both.
The poll, by Virginia-based Third Eye Strategies (no joke), shows Coss ahead of his opponents by wide margins. On the other hand, it also shows that fewer than 50 percent of voters would choose Coss if the election were held today. It's all emphasis, see?
The campaign left the poll's methodology a little vague. For instance, it doesn't say how the 400 respondents were interviewed.
Read the full Coss campaign release after the cut.
MAYOR DAVID COSS HAS COMMANDING LEAD IN RECENT POLL
Santa Fe, NM -- Mayor David Coss holds a commanding lead in the Mayoral race according to a recent poll of registered voters in Santa Fe. According to the poll, voters favor Mayor Coss almost 2:1 over Asenath Kepler and more than 3:1 over Miguel Chavez. If the election were today, 42% of voters would re-elect Mayor Coss, 24% would vote for Kepler and 12% for Chavez. The poll also found that six out of ten voters have a favorable view of the Mayor. The election is March 2, 2010.
"David Coss is in a commanding position with a significant lead heading into the last two months before the election," said Steve Clermont, President of Third Eye Strategies (www.thirdeyestrategies.com), the firm used to conduct the poll. "Coss is popular with voters in just about every constituency in Santa Fe."
"I'm humbled by the support and the confidence that Santa Feans have expressed," said Mayor Coss. "This election is clearly about continuing our efforts to build a strong local economy with good jobs. We've done so much in the past four years - expanding the coverage of the living wage, supporting local business, creating jobs in affordable housing construction and initiating new green jobs programs. With the national recession, we've got a lot more to do to maintain Santa Fe's strong economy."
The poll indicated that the number one issue for Santa Feans this election is the economy and jobs, with 44% of voters saying that the economy is their top concern. Mayor Coss has made strengthening the local economy and ensuring good jobs a top priority over the last four years. In 2009, Mayor Coss made $13 million in budget adjustments and belt-tightening to the City budget to adjust for falling gross receipt taxes, but prevented any layoffs, which would have added to the jobless rate and created distress for many Santa Fe families. Additionally, affordable housing initiatives, expansion of the coverage of the living wage, and the beginning of a "green jobs" economy have advanced significantly during the Mayor's first term.
The poll contained 400 registered voters in Santa Fe. Respondents were interviewed from December 13th through 16th, 2009. The survey has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
