THE TIMES POLL : Voters Support Measure to Save Soledad Cross

A city of San Diego ballot measure designed to preserve the Mt. Soledad cross has attracted strong support from a broad spectrum of the electorate and stands a good chance of attaining the two-thirds majority it needs for passage next Tuesday, according to the results of a Times Poll.

The measure, which would allow the city to transfer the land under the 38-year-old landmark to a private, nonprofit group, is viewed favorably by 69% of the voters questioned. Only 14% of those surveyed see it negatively, and 17% are undecided.

“The poll suggests that it has a good shot,” said John Brennan, director of the Times Poll. “People seem to know what this is about. The cross has a much stronger image than any of the mayoral candidates.”

A second ballot measure, which would limit San Diego’s mayor, City Council members and city attorney to two consecutive terms in office, is seen positively by a similar margin, 74%-13%, with 13% still undecided. That measure requires only a simple majority of votes to amend the City Charter.

San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor, who led a unanimous City Council vote to place the two measures before voters, hailed the poll results as harbingers of victory for both, which will appear on the ballot Tuesday along with five other local questions.

“It’s what I’ve been saying all along: (People) don’t want the cross to come down,” O’Connor said. “It’s a historical site. It’s part of San Diego history.”

But Howard Kreisner, an atheist, said that “one of the things (the poll result) means is that a majority of the people doesn’t care if a 10% or larger minority is insulted by their favorite religious symbol.”

Kreisner said he was surprised at the heavy majority in favor of the proposition, because Southern California has a higher percentage of “nonbelievers” than other regions of the country.

A federal judge in December ordered the removal of the Mt. Soledad cross and the Mt. Helix cross near La Mesa, ruling that their presence on public property violates the separation of church and state required by the state Constitution.

The city contends that the cross, visible for miles atop Mt. Soledad in La Jolla, is primarily a war memorial. U.S. District Judge Gordon Thompson’s ruling on both crosses, and an order that the city of La Mesa remove the Mt. Helix cross from its official insignia, have been appealed.

In February, the county transferred the Mt. Helix landmark and a small plot of land beneath it to the nonprofit San Diego Historical Society. But the city of San Diego needs voter approval to sell the dedicated parkland under the Mt. Soledad cross.

Opponents of the city ballot measure could not be reached for comment.

In a related vote Tuesday, the City Council unanimously agreed to prepare a separate measure for the November ballot that would preserve the 79-year-old Serra Cross in Presidio Park. If voters approve the measure, the landmark, erected on the spot where Father Junipero Serra established California’s first mission in 1769, would be transferred to the San Diego Historical Society.

O’Connor, who has proposed the idea of term limits since she was a 25-year-old councilwoman two decades ago, predicted voters will approve them easily.

“Times have changed. They’ve finally caught up with me, 20 years later,” said O’Connor, who will step down at the end of this year after six years in office.

The Times survey, which included 526 voters questioned last Thursday and Friday, showed that a very large number of voters have apparently made up their minds about the Mt. Soledad cross, which appears as Proposition F, and the term limits, which appear as Proposition A, on next Tuesday’s ballot. The poll’s margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Nine in 10 respondents who had formed an opinion, were certain about how they would vote on the cross issue, and seven in 10 were sure about their positions on term limits. In contrast, just four in 10 of the voters who have made choices in the city’s mayoral race were certain who they would vote for.

“What I’m struck by here is the level of awareness and what appears to be the level of definitiveness even before details are mentioned,” Brennan said.

The 69% favorable rating for the cross measure was measured when only a brief description of the ballot proposition was offered. When pollsters provided respondents with details of how Proposition F would preserve the cross, along with arguments from opponents, support rose to 84% while opposition remained virtually the same at 13%.

Among voters most likely to turn out, the level of support is essentially the same.

The measure enjoys substantial majorities among every major demographic and ideological group surveyed, including men, women, homeowners, renters, voters under 40, voters over 40, white-collar workers, blue-collar workers, Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

Proposition F, which would set limits for officeholders elected beginning next month, was also heavily favored across the demographic spectrum. Even the 63% of respondents who told pollsters that they believe city government is “basically sound” favored the measure by a 72%-11% margin.

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll interviewed 526 registered voters in the city of San Diego, by telephone, May 21 and 22. Of those, 261 were identified as likely to vote in the June 2 mayoral primary. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the city. Random-digit dialing techniques were used to ensure that both listed and non-listed numbers had an opportunity to be contacted. Results were weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age, education and household size. The margin of sampling error for the sample of all registered voters is plus or minus 5 percentage points. For certain subgroups, the error margin is somewhat higher. For example, the error margin on the sample of likely voters is plus or minus 7 points. Poll results can also be influenced by other factors such as question wording and the order of question presentation.

Mt. Soledad Cross, City Term Limits

PROPOSITION F

Proposition F on the June 2 ballot would authorize San Diego to sell the city-owned land beneath the Mt. Soledad cross in La Jolla to the Mt. Soledad Memorial Assn. What is your impression of Proposition F? Opinion: Percent Very favorable: 45% Somewhat favorable: 23% Somewhat unfavorable: 7% Very unfavorable: 7% Don’t know: 17%

PROPOSITION A

San Diego voters will also have an opportunity to vote on a ballot measure called Proposition A. This measure, if adopted, would limit the amount of time the mayor, the city attorney and city council members could serve in office to two consecutive four-year terms. What is your impression of Proposition A? Opinion: Percent Very favorable: 47% Somewhat favorable: 27% Somewhat unfavorable: 6% Very unfavorable: 7% Don’t know: 13% NOTE: Figures may not add to 100% because of rounding.

Source: Los Angeles Times Poll