Accompanying Information for August 9-10, 2011, Poll in Overland Park

 

To see:

• Part 1 of survey results, click here
• Part 2 of survey results, click here
• Part 3 of survey results, click here
• Part 4 of survey results, click here

 

To see survey wording for questions, click here.

 

Information about likely 46% property tax increase in Overland Park:

• News release from Overland Park government on Friday, May 13, about first public hearing on 2012 budget occurring Monday, May 16.  The press release acknowledges that the proposed budget had not yet been announced:  "The City Manager's proposed 2012 budget will be presented to the Governing Body in June."
• May 2011 calendar from Overland Park.
• The 2012 budget proposal.  "The City Manager's 2012 Budget proposal was presented to the Governing Body at a Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting on Monday, June 6, 2011." 
• Johnson County Sun, June 15, 2011:  "Revenue dip leads Overland Park to consider tax hike."
• Johnson County Sun, July 19, 2011:  "OVERLAND PARK The City Council voted unanimously last week to move forward with a budget containing a 4.1-mill increase in the property tax rate."
  • Also from this article:  "Overland Park, Lenexa and Prairie Village all are considering property tax hikes to support their 2012 budgets."
• Kansas City Star editorial board member Yael Abouhalkah:  "The Overland Park Chamber of Commerce endorsed Ebel’s proposed tax increase this week, making it even more likely the City Council will approve the tax boost later this summer... In recent weeks Ebel has become somewhat of a hero to other city administrators in the Kansas City region. Most of them would love to make a similar proposal to retain employees and maintain services."
• Yael Abouhalkah:  "Overland Park’s elected officials are now on record as supporting a 46 percent increase in the city property tax. Good for them."
• The current calendar of events for Overland Park government.
• August 19, 2010, NBC Action News:  "Mission approves plan that will tax properties based on how much traffic they generate."
• March 14, 2011, NBC Action News:  "Fight against Mission driveway tax gets bigger."
• July 25, 2011, NBC Action News:  "Business strip in Mission struggles to keep doors open."
• KC Monitor column, Benjamin Hodge, July 7, 2011:  "Between a Rock and a Tax Hike: Overland Park residents have two choices -- a 41% property tax hike or a 46% tax hike."
• KC Monitor column, Benjamin Hodge, July 16, 2011:  "There They Go Again: Overland Park Jams 50% Tax Through -- August 1 public hearing scheduled, for tax already voted on."
• KC Monitor column, Benjamin Hodge, July 31, 2011:  "Public Meeting Planned on 50% Tax Hike in Overland Park: Massive tax increase will be approved August 15, unless citizens object." Monday."

 

Demographic information about registered voters in Overland Park [based on recent registration data]:

• Gender:
  • Male: 45%
  • Female:  55%
• Party affiliation:
  • Democratic: 23%
  • Republican:  51%
  • Independent (Unaffiliated, etc.):  26% 
• Age:
  • Under 50 years: 52%
  • Over 50 years: 48%

Election results:

• National results:
  • CNN: 2008 president election vote totals (by number and electoral college), percent of total vote for each candidate, US electoral college map
  • NY Times: Presidential election state-by-state US map (with county results) and electoral college results for presidential elections 1992-2008
  • NY Times: Exit polls for presidential elections, 1980-2008
• Minnesota elections results:
  • 2004 November general election: John Kerry 51%, George W. Bush 48%
  • 2008 November general election: Barack Obama 54%, John McCain 44%
• Kansas election results:
  • 2008 November general election (PDF)
  • 2010 November general election (PDF)
• Johnson County election results
  • 2008 November general election
  • 2010 November general election
• Election results by cities and precincts within Johnson County
  • 2008 November general election (PDF)
  • 2010 November general election (PDF)

Other polls and information:

• Rasmussen:  "History of Party Trends from January 2004 to the present."
• Rasmussen: "Partisan Trends: 34.8% of Americans are Democrats, 33.1% Republicans" (August 1, 2011)
• Rasmussen:  "28% Say They’re Conservative On Both Fiscal and Social Issues" (August 18, 2011)
• Gallup: "Conservatives" Are Single-Largest Ideological Group, June 15, 2009
• Gallup: "Conservatives outnumber liberals in nearly every state, but not in D.C." (August 14, 2009)
• Gallup:  "U.S. Political Ideology Stable With Conservatives Leading: Most Republicans are conservative, but one in five is 'very conservative'" (August 1, 2011)
• SurveyUSA Kansas
  • November 2010 general election poll for state-wide offices, performed October 10-12, 2010.
  • Barack Obama approval poll, performed June 20-22, 2011.
  • Sam Brownback approval poll, performed June 20-22, 2011.
  • "If [federal] tax rates go up, will that help the United States economy? Hurt the economy? Or have no affect on the economy one way or the other?"  Conducted December 08, 2010.
• SurveyUSA Minnesota
  • "Imagine the state has only these two choices. What should the state do? Cut government spending? Or shut down non-essential government functions." Conducted May 23-24, 2011.
  • "Going forward, should Minnesota's government increase spending? Decrease spending? Or continue to spend about the same amount as it has been?"  Conducted June 16-17, 2011.
  • "By how much should spending be decreased? 0-3%? 4-6% 7-9%? Or by 10% or more?"  Conducted June 16-17, 2011.
  • "Would making cuts to state services be acceptable? Or unacceptable? To you?"   Conducted June 16-17, 2011.
• Rasmussen Reports national polls
  • "Voters Favor Tax Cuts Over Government Job Programs."  Conducted August 7-8, 2011.
  • 62% prefer fewer services and lower taxes. Conducted July 28-29, 2011.
  • "62% Would Vote to Replace Entire Congress."  Conducted July 30-31, 2011.
  • "63% of Likely Voters believe Congress can always find a way to make them worse."  Conducted July 30-31, 2011.
  • "A plurality of voters (41%) think a group of people randomly selected from the phone book would do a better job than the current Congress. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree, but another 20% are not sure."  Conducted August 1-2, 2011.
  • Obama approval rating, history.
  • "Most Voters Still Feel Tax Cuts, Less Spending Will Help Economy."  Conducted April 27-28, 2011.
  • "Voters Continue to See Congressional Democrats, Republicans as Extreme." Conducted August 3-4, 2011.
  • "Among all Likely U.S. Voters, 20% believe Republicans in Congress have done a good job representing the party’s values over the last several years, while 63% think they've lost touch with the party voter base. Thirty-five percent (35%) of voters nationwide say congressional Democrats are doing a good job presenting their party’s values, while 50% believe they have lost touch with its voters."  Conducted May 21-22, 2011.
• Pew Research Center. 
  • "If the government makes major cuts in federal spending in an effort to reduce the budget deficit, do you think these cuts would help the job situation, hurt the job situation, or not have much of an effect either way?"  Conducted July 20-24, 2011.
• Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll
  • "50 percent of registered voters surveyed said they would definitely or probably vote for someone else, while just 40 percent said they would definitely or probably vote for the president."  Conducted March 4-8, 2011.
• Washington Post Poll
  • "As you may know, Obama has announced that he is running for reelection in 2012. Would you say you will definitely vote for him, you'll consider voting for him, or you definitely will not vote for him?" Conducted Aug. 9, 2011.
• Fox News Poll conducted by Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R). 
  • "If the 2012 presidential election were held today, would you definitely vote to reelect Barack Obama, probably vote to reelect Obama, probably vote for someone else, or definitely vote for someone else?"  Conducted Aug. 7-9, 2011.
• "Political Party Trends in Kansas" - Kansas Watchdog, September 2010

 

About, favorability numbers, approval numbers, and election results:

• Reid Wilson, National Journal: "President Obama's Tipping Point"
• Brendan Nyhan:  "Do early-stage candidate favorability ratings matter?"

 

Other news related to our survey:

• Minnesota House Republican Caucus, July 14, 2011:  "GOP Legislative Leaders Reach Budget Agreement To End Shutdown Without Tax Increases"
• RedState:  "Dayton’s MN Shutdown – Washed Away in a Tsunami of Beer"
• Michael Mahoney: "Johnson County Sun Newspaper Shutting Down"
• Kansas City Star: "Johnson County Sun suspends publication"