A public opinion survey this month showed a “toxic” level of negative views about Assemblywoman Audra Strickland just before she launched her campaign for county supervisor, the pollster said Tuesday.
The poll was commissioned by the Ventura County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association. The union supports Strickland’s opponent, 2nd District Supervisor Linda Parks.
Precision Politics, a political consulting firm based in Simi Valley, conducted the poll during the first week of February, a few days before Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks, officially entered the race.
Marc O’Hara, Precision Politics’ owner and founder, said the results show “a very toxic environment for Audra Strickland.”
Herb Gooch, a political science professor at California Lutheran University, said the poll is a “rough indicator” for the 2nd District, because it had a fairly high margin of error. But even taking that into account, Gooch said, Strickland’s negatives were very high.
“If I were running Audra Strickland’s campaign, I’d be worried,” he said. “She’s got a lot of work to do…”
~ excerpted from the Ventura County Star 2/16/10; article by Tony Biasotti
