O.C. Officials, Union Share Cost of Survey

Top county officials and a local union are jointly paying for a $35,000 poll to assess voter sentiment on a proposed ballot initiative sponsored by health care groups that would direct 80% of the county’s tobacco settlement dollars toward anti-smoking and health programs.

The Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s Assn., which has discussed opposing the initiative, spent $5,000 through its political action committee to sponsor 10 questions deemed too political to be paid for by the county, said Asst. County CEO Michael Ruane and Robert MacLeod, general manager of the union.

The poll and the arrangement were sharply criticized Friday by a county political reformer, initiative supporters and Supervisor Todd Spitzer as a possible misuse of taxpayer funds.

Neither the poll of 750 registered voters conducted in late May, nor the $30,000 expenditure were approved by the Board of Supervisors. But supervisors are on record advocating that most of the estimated $765 million in county tobacco settlement funds be spent on jail construction and debt repayment.

Shirley Grindle, a local campaign finance watchdog, called the arrangement improper. She and others also criticized the county for taking sides in a political fight.

Grindle said the county should not act in concert with the deputies union, which is a private organization that endorses political candidates.

“The county shouldn’t be doing business with any group on political issues,” she said. “It is not smart.”

Supervisor Cynthia Coad defended the poll, saying it provides useful information to prepare the county’s five-year strategic spending plan in July. As part of that, the board must decide whether to maintain its commitment to spend most of the tobacco money on jail construction and debt repayment.

The union and top county officials--including Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier and Chief Financial Officer Gary Burton--have talked for months about conducting such a poll as a follow-up to one done last fall that showed 82% support for spending the tobacco money on health care, MacLeod said.

“That survey was extremely leading,” he said.

In the latest poll of about 50 questions, union money paid for 10 questions intended to gauge the credibility of key county figures who might participate in a campaign against the initiative, according to Monte Ward, a county consultant and poll project manager.

The poll was commissioned by Mittermeier and Burton, who knew about the union’s participation, Ruane said. Neither Mittermeier nor Burton could be reached for comment.

The initiative would require that 80% be spent on health care and anti-smoking programs, with the balance going to law enforcement. An effort to forge a compromise between the supervisors and a coalition of health care groups broke down May 16 at a Board of Supervisors meeting.

The next day, the health care coalition submitted 115,000 signatures to place their measure on the November ballot, about 44,000 more signatures than required. The county Registrar of Voters has yet to certify the signatures.

Ruane acknowledged Friday that parts of the poll cross a political line. He said questions asked for the deputies union would not have been appropriate in the county-funded part of the poll.

“If they hadn’t been privately funded, they wouldn’t have been asked,” he said. “Public funds shouldn’t be spent on any questions that could be viewed as part of a political campaign.”

But initiative backers sharply criticized county officials for partisanship.

“Doing this after the filing of the initiative is inappropriate and a misuse of taxpayer money,” said Sam Roth, vice president of the California Medical Assn., which is a sponsor of the initiative. “The poll shows the county is hellbent on short-circuiting the desires of the people. What other value would this have?”

State Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana), an initiative sponsor, said that with negotiations over and the signatures filed, there “is no other reason to gather this information than to advocate a position.”

Spitzer, who called the poll an improper use of taxpayer money, said he has warned county officials about taking sides in the initiative campaign.

“Now that the initiative has been filed, it is clear from the secret poll using taxpayer money--co-mingled with political action committee money--that they are orchestrating a political campaign from the third floor of the County Hall of Administration,” Spitzer said.

But Coad said it would be helpful to know voter attitudes should other groups ask supervisors to place a competing measure on the ballot. The deadline has passed for submitting an initiative by signature, but the supervisors have until Aug. 11 to put a measure on the ballot by majority vote of the board.

“I had heard there might be other groups that might want a different division of the money, namely some of the umbrella law enforcement groups, and they might be asking to put something on the ballot,” she said.

Supervisors Jim Silva and Tom Wilson and Board Chairman Chuck Smith did not return calls seeking comment.

Results of the poll will be given to the county and the union next week, Ward said. It was done by Arnie Steinberg, a well-known Republican pollster, who also did last fall’s survey.

Ruane said the poll did not require board authorization because it was done as a service contract, which need supervisorial approval if they exceed $50,000. Board approval is required for consulting contracts that exceed $25,000, but Ruane said Steinberg is not considered a consultant.

Several county political consultants said the deputies union could not have afforded a countywide survey of 750 voters, with an accuracy factor of plus or minus 3.5%.

The county poll results are a public document, but the county won’t get a copy of the deputies’ report. It will be up to the deputies “to share them if they like,” Ruane said.