TIMES ORANGE COUNTY POLL : Most Favor Quake Aid Tax but Won’t Pay to Prepare

In a mix of compassion and it-won’t-happen-here sentiment, a majority of Orange County voters contacted in The Times Orange County Poll said they would support a temporary increase in state taxes to assist earthquake victims in the Bay Area but won’t pay to improve local preparedness.

The devastating temblor has left many county residents trembling too: Six in ten of those questioned in the week after the Oct. 17 disaster said they are very or somewhat concerned about a severe quake striking here. Women were three times as likely as men to worry “a lot” about the Big One.

Slightly more than half of the 600 registered voters surveyed said they had taken steps to prepare before the 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Northern California. More than a quarter, however, said they still have not laid in a store of food, medicine and water that could help them through such a disaster.

“Your heart goes out to the people who have lost a lifetime of treasures and junk and everything that they own,” said Maureen Lawrence of Tustin, who was among the 51% who backed Gov. George Deukmejian’s call for a temporary hike in state sales or gasoline taxes for aid to the Bay Area and Santa Cruz County.

However, Lawrence said she wants assurances that any new tax would directly assist those wiped out by the quake.

“My major concern would be what are they going to do with that money? Are they going to help homeless people or rebuild the Nimitz Freeway? Well forget that. I wouldn’t want a penny of my money to go toward putting that double-decker freeway up again.”

Lawrence was among just 42% of voters who said they would also dig deep for preparedness efforts in Orange County. The balance, nearly 60%, said they would oppose a local tax or were undecided on the subject.

“I think it is the responsibility of your local government to take care of you in a quake,” she said. “If you sit around waiting for the federal government to step in and help, you’ll have a long wait.”

The willingness of county residents to assist victims in Northern California while refusing to pay for readiness at home probably reflects a lack of confidence in local government spending decisions, said pollster Mark Baldassare of Mark Baldassare & Associates in Irvine.

Older respondents in Orange County were least likely to favor any tax increase, the survey showed. Among those 55 or older, just 44% said they would back a temporary tax hike to aid the Bay Area and only 33% favored a local tax increase.

By contrast, 70% of Bay Area residents of all ages favored a local tax increase in a survey conducted by Baldassare three days after the quake. And even though a third of Northern California residents polled reported damage to their homes, two of three said they had not stored food, water or other supplies in case of another disastrous jolt.

“I found it very surprising that a majority of Orange County residents would support an increase in either the sales tax or the gas tax to pay for damage in the Bay Area,” Baldassare said.

“It’s rare on any issue to find a majority in Orange County in favor of a tax increase. Obviously, they were very much moved by events in the Bay Area and they sensed that it was a very unusual occurrence that called for very unusual action.”

Kevin Crockett of Laguna Beach said he would pay higher taxes for quake relief in Northern California, but would oppose a local tax increase because “government preparedness programs are a waste of money. I think individuals can prepare, but the government can’t do much until after the fact.”

Nevertheless, Crockett said he and wife, Louise, have not taken any earthquake precautions. Crockett said he is “only somewhat” concerned about a temblor in Orange County.

“We just sort of fly by the seat of our pants and hope it doesn’t happen,” he said. “I tell myself that California building techniques are such that we will be protected from danger. That lets me sleep at night.”

Donna Tinnell, a Virginia native who moved to the city of Orange in 1985, confessed, “I have a bad case of the jitters.” Tinnell said her nerves have been frayed since the destructive Whittier quake struck in October, 1987. “I was sitting in a rocking chair, breast feeding my baby when everything started to shake,” she recalled. “I ran from the house naked from the waist up, with my husband running behind me screaming, ‘Cover up! Cover up!’ It was right up there on the old fright-meter.”

Tinnell said she takes the threat of a catastrophic quake more seriously than most longtime Californians she knows. Before the recent Bay Area earthquake, she stocked up on water, juice, canned goods, first-aid supplies and food supplements. After the disaster, she set up a telephone relay system using relatives on the East Coast, so that family members here can get messages to each other in case they are scattered by a quake.

Still, Tinnell said, the preparations can’t guarantee the safety of her family.

“I’m tired of having my heart jump up in my throat every time a truck rumbles down the street and shakes the house,” she said. “I feel like the best way to prepare for the earthquake that we know is going to come is to carry myself back to ol’ Virginny.”

How the Quake Poll Was Conducted

The Times Orange County Poll, conducted by Mark Baldassare & Associates of Irvine, surveyed 600 registered voters throughout the county.

Interviews were conducted by telephone on weekday evenings from Oct. 23 to 25, using listed and unlisted telephone numbers. The random sample survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. For subgroups within the survey, such as voters over 55, the margin would be higher.

All those surveyed were guaranteed anonymity. However, some of those who agreed were reinterviewed for news stories on the poll.

The results of a statewide Times Poll on the Bay Area earthquake will be reported Monday. THE TIMES ORANGE COUNTY POLL SURTAX FOR EARTHQUAKE REPAIRS “California officials are considering a temporary increase in the sales tax or gasoline tax to pay for repairing earthquake damage in the Bay Area. Do you favor or oppose a temporary surtax?”

Favor Oppose Don’t Know TOTAL 51% 40% 9% By Sex Women 54 35 11 Men 47 46 7 By Age 18-34 60 33 7 35-54 49 45 6 55or older 44 41 15 By Yearly Income Under $20,000 52 35 13 $20,000-39,000 51 41 8 $40,000-59,000 53 37 10 Over $60,000 51 43 6

FEARS OF A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE “How much do you worry about a major earthquake--similar to the one in the Bay Area--striking Orange County?”

A Lot Some A Little Not at All TOTAL 21% 40% 22% 17% By Sex Women 31 37 17 15 Men 10 43 26 21 By Age 18-34 21 43 23 13 35-54 18 42 22 18 55 or older 25 34 20 21 By Yearly Income Under $20,000 32 27 18 23 $20,000-39,000 29 40 16 15 $40,000-59,000 15 43 27 15 Over $60,000 15 45 24 16

LOCAL TAX FOR EARTHQUAKE PROGRAMS “Orange County officials have proposed a 12-million dollar earthquake preparedness program--covering the costs of projects such as a public awareness campaign and emergency medical care. Do you favor or oppose a tax increase for an earthquake preparedness program in Orange County?”

Favor Oppose Don’t Know TOTAL 42% 47% 11% By Fears Worried a lot 63 28 9 Somewhat 39 50 11 A little 32 57 11 Not at all 35 54 11 By Confidence in County Government A great deal 61 29 10 Some 47 42 11 Hardly any 31 62 7 None 25 64 11 By Yearly Income Under $20,000 36 40 24 $20,000-39,000 47 45 8 $40,000-59,000 46 47 7 Over $60,000 41 51 8

Source: Los Angeles Times Poll by Mark Baldasarre & Associates, October, 1989