Poll Finds Water and the Economy Lead California Voters' Concerns

As Governor Jerry Brown prepares to give his State of the State address later this month, a new poll finds that the future of California's water and growing the state's economy are the primary preoccupations of voters. The latest Golden State poll, designed by the Bill Lane Center for the American West with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, asked voters to prioritize a list of 21 policy considerations. 

The leading issues were water and the economy, each cited by more than 70 percent of Californians surveyed by the firm YouGov around the first half of December. The survey sampled 1,800 Californians over the age of 18.

The survey also tested voters' opinions of three proposals that will likely become hot topics in the year to come: switching the state's gasoline tax to a mileage-based fee; the Delta water tunnel; and whether funds for high-speed rail should be diverted to other infrastructure projects. 

More detailed analysis of the Golden State poll can be found from the Stanford News Service and the latest edition of the Hoover Institution's Eureka magazine, published today. 

The magazine also features an article co-authored by Bruce E. Cain and the Stanford graduate student Esteban Antonio Guerrero Jaimes, looking at the obstacles Gov. Brown faces in his goal of reducing statewide petroleum usage by 50%. The measure failed to make it into the ambitious energy efficiency law passed by the state legislature last year, and Cain – the Center's Eccles Family Director – and his co-author explore the reasons that many Californians aren't ready to accept mandates to switch to electric or other "zero-emissions" vehicles.

Read more at Eureka Magazine and the Stanford News Service »