Sooner Survey: Fix Roads And Bridges!

The latest edition of The Sooner Survey reports Oklahomans want legislators to fix their roads and bridges before doing anything else, a shift in past public opinion that has favored pay raises for teachers as their first funding option.

Survey Director Pat McFerron writes, "Fully 46% of those surveyed say that speeding up funding for road and bridge repairs should be the top priority for the legislature, while 32% said giving teachers a $1,200 a year pay raise should take to top spot. Additionally, 9% wanted to build more prisons so criminals are not released early and 4% favored increasing investment in our state universities."

McFerron adds: "One reason that legislators would be well-served to support accelerating road and bridge funding is because of its appeal to critical swing blocs in Oklahoma politics. As previous editions of The Sooner Survey have pointed out, the southwest part of the state has become a critical swing area. In the Lawton media market, 54% of voters indicate that rapidly getting funds to road and bridge programs should be the top priority – that is almost twice as many who prefer funding for teachers (28%). In addition, the 11% of voters who say they vote for the person over the party are the most intense on this issue with almost two-in-three (63%) saying that the need for improved roads and bridges outweighs that for teacher raises (18%). Other critical groups that prefer quickening the funding of the road and bridge program are self-described conservative Democrats (49%), Democrats voting for John McCain for President (46%), and those currently undecided on a generic ballot for the state legislature (52%). Certainly, issues come and go. And while the economy, moral issues, or even crime could certainly become a calling card in 2008, at this time, at least at the state legislative level, funding for roads and bridges has to be considered a top concern heading into the final weeks of session of an election year. ¨

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