|
|
|
|
|
Not Sure |
|
1 |
Do you believe water quality is
a major issue in Vermont? |
80% |
14% |
6% |
|
2 |
Should Vermont legalize
marijuana? |
42%
|
45% |
13% |
|
3 |
Should Vermont have a payroll
tax to reduce the cost of Medicaid? |
23%
|
51% |
26% |
|
4 |
Would a carbon tax benefit
Vermont's environment? |
44% |
34% |
22% |
|
5 |
Should sugary drinks be taxed in
order to reduce obesity? |
53% |
39% |
8% |
|
6 |
Should Vermont have a one-day
sales tax holiday? |
61% |
24% |
15% |
|
7 |
Are you concerned about the
increased use of opiates in Vermont? |
91% |
7% |
2% |
|
8 |
Is Lake Champlain as clear as
you would like it to be? |
6% |
82% |
12% |
|
9 |
Should natural gas be an
important part of Vermont's economy? |
44% |
37% |
19% |
|
10 |
Do you believe Vermont's health
care is better than 5 years ago? |
33%
|
35% |
32% |
|
11 |
Are statewide cell service and
broadband important to the future of Vermont’s economy? |
84% |
8%
|
7%
|
|
12 |
Does Vermont have too many
school districts? |
60% |
20% |
20% |
|
13 |
Should Vermont's Presidential
Primary be on the same date as New Hampshire's? |
30%
|
41% |
28% |
|
14 |
Do you believe that our state is
doing a good job at attracting jobs to Vermont? |
17%
|
60% |
23% |
|
15 |
Do you believe Governor Shumlin
is doing a good job? |
26% |
51% |
22% |
|
16 |
Do you support requiring
background checks for sales of guns between private parties and at
gun shows? |
76% |
18% |
6% |
There were
two questions that appeared in last year's survey (2. marijuana and
9. natural gas) and four that appeared two years ago (5. sugary
drinks, 9. natural gas, 11. cell & broadband, and 15. Shumlin).
The opinion on marijuana legalization shifted from positive to
slightly negative, but otherwise opinion is evenly divided. The
opinion on taxing sugar-sweetened beverages remained unchanged from
two years ago with 53% in favor. While opinions of the importance of
natural gas has diminished somewhat from the previous surveys, it is
still seen as important. Overwhelmingly, respondents continue to
consider cell service and broadband internet to be essential to
Vermont's economic growth. The big switch is in Governor Shumlin's
numbers. He went from a 48% approval vs. 30% disapproval in 2013 to
a 26% approval and 51% disapproval this year.
Interestingly,
Shumlin's Doyle Poll numbers in Charlotte were slightly worse than
those of an independent VTDigger-Castleton Polling Institute survey
released this week where 47% disapproved of the job he's doing
compared to 41% approving. The Charlotte Doyle Poll results for
other questions also lined up with those from the VTDigger-Castleton
survey within a few percentage points, including support for taxing
sugar-sweetened beverages, taxing carbon, and requiring background
checks on private sales of firearms. (The VTDigger polling results
can be found at
http://vtdigger.org/majorprojects/complete-vtdiggercastleton-polling-institute-results/.)
Charlotters
also support a sales-tax holiday and reducing the number of school
districts and oppose a payroll tax to address the cost-shift in
insurace premiums. There remains a lot of concern about opiate
addiction and a strong recognition of the problem we face with
pollution in Lake Champlain and state waters.
As your
representative in Montpelier, I appreciate your input on these and
other issues. Your comments help me look at issues from several
perspectives, and that is a valuable opportunity for me. You can
always contact me by phone at 802-233-5238 or email me at
myantachka.dfa@gmail.com.