News

February 13, 2013

FM3 Poll: In the Rockies, Growing Support for Renewables

From a February 8 post on the New York Times’ Green blog:

A new poll tracking the conservation attitudes of residents of the six Rocky Mountain States shows that support is strong for greater protection of public lands and investment in renewable energy. It also offers some clues to why public policy does not dovetail with public opinion in those areas.

…

While support for more conservation has remained constant during the three years since the poll began, David Metz, who works for the Democratic-leaning polling company Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates, said he set out this year to understand why western politics and policy depart in some ways from public opinion.

He learned that 54 percent of Rocky Mountain residents are unaware of how their leaders have voted with regard to protecting land, air and water. “People don’t have a clear idea of what their elected officials are doing,” Mr. Metz said.

For example, more than two-thirds of people interviewed either said that no drilling was taking place on public lands or that they didn’t have enough information to answer whether it was or not. In reality, 38 million public acres across the United States, including land in 42 national park units are leased for oil and gas drilling, something that most western lawmakers support.

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January 25, 2013

FM3 Poll: Iowa Voters Support Sales Tax Increase for Conservation

From a January 24 article in the Des Moines Register:

The bipartisan poll conducted earlier this month by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates and Public Opinion Strategies found that 63 percent of Iowans support the three-eighths of 1 percent increase, as compared to 34 percent opposed.

 

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January 23, 2013

FM3 Poll Debunks So-Called “Bikelash” in Seattle

From a January 23 article in Seattle’s The Stranger newspaper:

A January 17 report by FM3, a policy-focused opinion research firm, shows that Seattle voters overwhelmingly like cyclists—79 percent have a favorable opinion—and most of the city’s residents actually ride a bike. What’s even more contrary to conventional wisdom: By a two-to-one margin, voters support removing traffic lanes and some on-street parking to build bicycle lanes that are physically separated from cars.

“There’s strong public support for making it safer for people to ride in Seattle, and there’s a large percentage of people who would want to ride if we make those investments,” says Benjamin, whose group commissioned the poll of 400 Seattle voters. It has a margin of error of 4.9 percent. And while some might argue that an advocacy group paid for the survey—and some naysayers will—FM3 is a reputable Democratic pollster with plenty of experience conducting surveys and advising everyone from small-time candidates to Senator Patty Murray.

As the city faces a crowded, high-profile mayor’s race this year, candidates are probably thinking about ways to bring down incumbent mayor Mike McGinn. His regular bike riding has been a target for some opponents, and the Seattle Times derides him with the nickname “McSchwinn.” Over the last few years, this sort of anti-cyclist rhetoric has been ramped up into a wedge issue (apparently to pressure the mayor and the city council into withholding money from the Bicycle Master Plan, which is only about one-quarter funded).

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November 9, 2012

Congratulations to our successful 2012 clients!

 Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) Congratulates

Successful Candidate and Ballot Measure Clients in 2012

 

In the wake of a contentious and hard-fought election, FM3 is pleased to congratulate the candidates and ballot measure campaigns across the country for which the firm provided public opinion research. In the midst of a tough economy and what some predicted would be a difficult year for Democrats, FM3 was pleased to help its clients to victories at all levels of the ballot.  We worked across the country, from Rhode Island to Oklahoma to Washington state; engaged in tough statewide, Congressional and local candidate races and helped pass state and local ballot measures under challenging circumstances.

In particular, FM3 is honored to have continued its association with Senator Patty Murray, head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, providing election advice and counsel. Thanks to her hard work, Democrats exceeded all expectations in Senate races, and managed to expand their Senate majority by two seats. And, with Democratic victories in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and North Dakota, there are now an historic number of women serving in the Senate.

FM3 is proud to have assisted the following Democratic candidates who won hard-fought, challenging victories:

  • In Wisconsin, FM3 is pleased to congratulate Tammy Baldwin on her historic victory in the U.S.
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October 22, 2012

FM3 Poll: Most California students give more healthful state school menus thumbs up

From an October 19 article in the Los Angeles Times:

For every three California public school students who think school meals are yummier than usual, there’s only one who thinks they’re worse, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

The survey by the California Endowment, the state’s largest healthcare foundation, was the first to tally the attitudes of California students and parents since new national nutrition standards took effect in July.

The changes by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, put into place partially to help curb childhood obesity, require schools to offer whole grains and low-fat milk and to cut back on sodium and saturated fat levels.

The results of the telephone and Internet survey show that Californians appreciate the health-conscious shift, said Judi Larsen, a program manager at the California Endowment.

“I have to be honest, we went in knowing the results could go either way,” Larsen said. “We’re definitely pleased.”

Ana Lorenzo, a 19-year-old senior at Miguel Contreras Learning Complex, had to pause and think about whether she’d noticed a change in school meals this year.

She shook her head, sending a cascade of wavy, brown hair back and forth over her shoulders.

“It’s kind of the same as it’s always been,” Lorenzo said, but added that it definitely hadn’t gotten worse.

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October 3, 2012

Metz: Government does a good job of protecting our natural history

An op-ed written by FM3 Partner David Metz and Public Opinion Strategy’s Lori Weigel was recently published on The Hill’s Congress blog:

The voters we talk to across America can tell you a lot about what Washington has done wrong: the bickering; the perceived lack of attention to the important issues facing the country; the redundancy and waste. The glum ratings they report to pollsters like us are not just attributable to concern about the economy, but often are grounded in skepticism about whether or not their leaders are up to the tasks at hand.

In a national survey we co-conducted entering the height of the political campaign season on behalf of the National Institute on Civil Discourse, fewer than one American voter in ten has “a great deal of confidence” in elected officials to solve the problems facing the country. Instead, voters described feeling “frustrated,” “worried,” and even “ashamed” when they think about their elected officials. This deep dissatisfaction is one of the few things that unites Democrats, Republicans and independents in this election season.

The bright spot amidst this gloom in voters’ characterization of how well government functions today? Americans see the nation’s public lands as emblematic of something government has gotten right.

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August 17, 2012

National Journal: FM3 Poll: Heinrich Leads Wilson by Nine

From a August 14, 2012 blog post on National Journal’s Hotline On Call blog:

New Mexico Democratic Rep. Martin Heinrich has opened up a nine point lead over former GOP Rep. Heather Wilson in the state’s Senate race, according to a new poll conducted for a coalition of environmental groups including the League of Conservation voters.

Heinrich leads Wilson 50 percent to 41 percent — a jump up from the last poll the Democratic Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates conducted, a little over a month ago, which showed Heinrich leading Wilson 49 percent to 45 percent.

Wilson’s favorables are at 45 percent in the survey, while 42 percent see her unfavorably. Those numbers are unchanged from the group’s previous poll (Heinrich’s favorability wasn’t included in either polling memo).

Both sides have been aggressively up on the airwaves since the June 5 primary: Environmental groups are attacking Wilson, while the former congresswoman and GOP-aligned groups including Crossroads GPS have been hitting Heinrich. Most polls have showed a close Senate race in a state President Obama is favored to win this year.

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July 11, 2012

National Journal: FM3 Poll: Heinrich, Wilson in Dead Heat in New Mexico Senate Race

From a July 11, 2012 blog post on National Journal’s Hotline On Call blog:

Democratic Rep. Martin Heinrich and former Republican Rep. Heather Wilson are in a statistical dead heat, according to a poll of the New Mexico Senate race conducted for the League of Conservation Voters and other Democratic-leaning environmental groups.

Heinrich leads Wilson 49 percent to 45 percent in the survey, an advantage that is within the poll’s margin of error.

The two candidates secured their respective party nominations on June 5. Democratic polling firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, which conducted the latest survey for the environmental groups, also released their test of Wilson’s favorability from June 7-10, and found that 50 percent had a favorable view of the former congresswoman, 36 percent had an unfavorable view, and 14 percent had not heard of her or didn’t know.

In the latest survey, 45 percent said they had a favorable view of Wilson while 42 percent said they had an unfavorable view. Thirteen percent said they did not know or had not heard of her. Heinrich’s favorability numbers were not included the polling memo released by the LCV.

Right after the primary, the GOP-aligned American Crossroads began running positive Wilson spots, a rare strategy from the group that typically focuses its efforts on negative ads against Democrats.

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May 3, 2012

A tale of two recalls, as told by FM3 Partner Paul Maslin

A recent profile of FM3 Partner Paul Maslin, featured in the Isthmus Daily page, contrasts his experience on the 2003 California recall campaign with his work on the Scott Walker recall election in Wisconsin. An excerpt of the article, written by Judith Davidoff, appears below. The full article can be found here.

Among those working on either side of the recall effort against Gov. Scott Walker, Democratic pollster Paul Maslin has a unique vantage point: He’s been through one of these before.

Maslin, now based in Madison, worked for former California Gov. Gray Davis, who in 2003 became just the second United States governor to be recalled from office. Lynn Frazier, governor of North Dakota, was recalled in 1921.

Maslin is currently working for former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, who is challenging Walker, though he polled for her Democratic primary opponent, Tom Barrett, when the Milwaukee mayor ran against Walker in 2010. He has worked in the field for decades, including as a pollster and strategist for Howard Dean in his 2003 bid for president.

“I’m the only person who can stand up and say, ‘Yep, I’ve done this twice,’ says Maslin. “I hope my record is one and one when it’s all over, that’s all I can say.”

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April 24, 2012

FM3 Poll: Four in five California voters believe that the state’s school discipline policies need changes

Suspensions more common for minority, disabled students

Joanna Lin, California Watch

From the article:

A number of bills currently in the state Legislature seek to change suspension policies and require districts to address high suspension rates – efforts that a recent poll found many California voters would support.

 

Four in five voters believe that the state’s school discipline policies need changes, according to the survey, which was commissioned by The California Endowment, a statewide health foundation that also provides funding to California Watch, and conducted by the public opinion research firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates. Nearly 3 out of 4 voters said suspensions should be used as a last resort after other approaches to correct misbehavior have been tried, except in very serious cases.

 

“Nobody’s arguing that we should not ever use out-of-school suspension. It should be a tool that educators have in their kit to respond to behavior,” Losen said. “It just defies common sense, the frequency at which some kids are being kicked out of school – especially in light of these better alternatives.”

 

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