This Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone Nov. 12-15, 2015, among a random sample of 1,005 adult residents of the District of Columbia reached on conventional and cellular phones by live interviewers. The margin of sampling error for overall results is four percentage points. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt SRBI, Inc of New York, NY. (Full methodological details appended at the end.) * = less than .5 percent RV=Registered voters 1. First, do you think things in the District of Columbia are generally going in the right direction, or do you feel things have gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track? Right Wrong Neither direction track (vol.) 11/15/15 57 32 NA 11/15/15 RV 56 36 NA 3/23/14 RV 62 29 5 1/12/14 RV 59 33 5 1/12/14 59 32 5 7/17/12 40 45 8 5/31/11* 46 36 11 8/26/10 56 29 9 1/28/10 52 29 11 1/8/08 56 31 8 7/18/06 42 46 7 5/19/02 54 33 8 2/7/00 69 22 6 8/27/98** 47 46 NA 5/18/98 31 58 4 5/4/97 20 71 6 5/19/96 14 78 NA 2/29/96 16 80 NA 3/02/95 15 80 NA 12/21/93 11 83 NA 7/86 42 47 NA *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation No opinion 10 8 4 3 4 6 7 6 8 5 5 5 3 7 6 2 2 4 5 6 12 2. What is the biggest problem facing the District today, the one you want the mayor to work the hardest to solve? 11/15/15 Crime/violence Housing costs/ low income housing/ more affordable housing ECONOMY NET Jobs/employment/ Opportunities Economy/Econ development/ improving quality of life/ cost of living Taxes Education/improving schools TRANSPORTATION NET Traffic/parking problems Other transportation/Metro Poverty/homelessness Want DC to be self-governing/ 5/31/11* 34 12 18 11 4 22 5 16 5 1 9 8 6 2 6 5 1 25 NA 5 NA 2 1 representation in Congress/ Congressional oversight 2 Race issues/income inequality/ Gentrification 2 CITY GOVERNMENT NET 2 Improve city government/ increase efficiency/ less corrupt 1 Balanced budget/ improve finances 1 Mayor/issues involving Mayor * Improving city services 1 Drugs/marijuana 1 Improving soc. services/ health care NA Nothing NA Other 5 Don't know 4 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation 2 NA 13 6 5 1 NA 2 * 4 4 -------------- Among Registered Voters -------------11/15/15 5/31/11* 8/26/10 7/18/06 5/19/02 2/7/00 33 10 13 38 22 21 Crime/violence Housing costs/ low income housing/ more affordable housing 19 ECONOMY NET 10 Jobs/employment/ Opportunities 5 Economy/Econ development/ improving quality of life/ cost of living 5 Taxes 1 Education/improving schools 9 TRANSPORTATION NET 6 Traffic/parking problems 4 Other transportation/Metro 2 Poverty/homelessness 7 Race issues/income inequality/ Gentrification 2 Want DC to be self-governing/ representation in Congress/ Congressional oversight 2 CITY GOVERNMENT NET 2 Improve city government/ increase efficiency/ less corrupt 1 Balanced budget/ improve finances 1 Mayor/issues involving Mayor 1 Improving city services 1 Drugs/marijuana 1 Improving soc. services/ health care NA Nothing NA Other 5 Don't know 4 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation 4 23 4 26 16 5 15 14 2 12 16 18 3 9 7 6 1 26 NA 3 NA 2 8 * 34 NA 2 NA 2 2 1 24 NA 1 NA 2 3 2 18 NA 1 NA 2 4 2 17 NA 3 NA 3 NA NA NA NA NA 4 15 1 4 1 2 3 3 3 6 7 2 1 3 4 6 1 4 NA 2 NA 2 NA 1 NA 4 NA 1 NA 8 NA 2 NA 14 NA 2 * 3 4 NA 0 10 3 1 NA 3 3 3 * 7 4 3 5 8 3 2 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way that Muriel Bowser is handling her job as Mayor? Do you approve strongly or somewhat? 11/15/15 11/15/15 RV -------Approve--------NET Strongly Somewhat 58 17 41 57 16 41 -------Disapprove------NET Somewhat Strongly 25 14 10 29 16 13 Compare to Vincent Gray: 3/23/14 RV 46 16 30 1/12/14 51 13 37 7/17/12 29 9 21 5/31/11* 41 10 31 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation No opin. 18 14 45 39 59 40 24 23 24 26 21 16 35 14 9 11 12 20 32 27 29 41 40 46 53 49 22 21 19 20 20 11 11 27 33 29 11 10 8 7 9 6 7 Compare to Anthony Williams: 7/18/06 RV 54 20 5/19/02 RV 64 24 5/19/02 64 22 2/7/00 77 36 34 40 42 40 40 29 28 17 16 11 11 9 24 18 17 7 6 7 8 7 Compare to Marion Barry: 5/18/98 35 16 5/4/97 31 13 5/19/96 50 25 2/29/96 48 19 3/02/95 58 28 5/89 28 NA 8/21/87 44 NA 7/86 50 NA 19 19 25 29 30 NA NA NA 52 63 47 45 27 62 41 38 17 21 21 19 13 NA NA NA 34 41 26 26 14 NA NA NA 14 6 3 7 15 10 15 12 Compare 8/26/10 1/28/10 1/28/10 1/8/08 1/8/08 to Adrian Fenty: RV 47 15 RV 40 13 42 13 RV 72 31 72 32 Compare to Sharon Pratt Kelly: 12/21/93 30 7 23 67 2/2/92 54 20 34 42 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation 32 19 35 23 3 4 4. Now I’m going to mention some issues that face our community, and for each, please tell me whether you think Mayor Bowser is doing an excellent job, good, not-so-good or poor job in dealing with this issue. 11/15/15 – Summary table a. reducing crime in the city b. improving District public schools c. reducing corruption in city government d. reducing the influence of wealthy political donors on government decisions --Excellent/Good--NET Excel. Good 33 3 30 --Not-so-good/Poor-NET Not Good Poor 63 37 26 No op. 5 49 7 42 36 24 12 15 41 4 37 45 28 17 14 31 3 27 51 28 23 18 Trend: a. Reducing crime in the city 3 11/15/15 1/12/14 Gray 1/28/10 Fenty 1/8/08 Fenty ---Excellent/Good--NET Excel. Good 33 3 30 55 5 50 51 8 44 41 5 36 ---Not-so-good/Poor--NET Not good Poor 63 37 26 39 30 10 44 29 15 55 40 15 No opin. 5 5 4 4 ---Not-so-good/Poor--NET Not good Poor 36 24 12 49 36 14 55 33 22 49 26 24 42 24 18 58 38 20 44 30 14 No opin. 15 12 11 9 5 11 11 b. Improving District public schools 11/15/15 1/12/14 Gray 7/17/12 Gray 1/28/10 Fenty 1/8/08 Fenty 5/19/02 Williams 2/7/00 Williams ---Excellent/Good--NET Excel. Good 49 7 42 38 5 33 34 4 31 42 10 32 52 12 41 31 3 28 45 5 40 No trend c and d. 5. Generally speaking, how would you rate the job (ITEM): excellent, good, not so good or poor? 11/15/15 – Summary table a. that District police are doing b. the District is doing to create and maintain affordable housing c. the District is doing helping the homeless - Excellent/Good NET Excel. Good 63 10 53 -- Not Good/Poor -NET Not Good Poor 34 24 11 26 3 23 70 36 34 4 28 3 25 67 37 30 5 Trend: a. The job that district police are doing --Excellent/Good----Not Good/Poor--NET Excel. Good NET Not Good Poor 11/15/15 63 10 53 34 24 11 1/12/14 71 12 59 27 17 10 5/31/11* 76 15 61 21 16 5 1/28/10 73 12 61 25 17 8 1/8/08 61 8 53 37 27 10 7/18/06 RV 53 6 47 43 30 13 5/19/02 65 8 57 31 21 10 2/7/00 63 9 54 33 23 10 5/18/98 49 7 42 45 29 16 5/4/97 68 15 53 30 21 9 5/21/90 65 13 52 26 20 6 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation No opin. 3 2 3 2 2 4 4 4 5 2 9 b. the District is doing to create and maintain affordable housing 11/15/15 1/12/14 --Excellent/Good-NET Excel. Good 26 3 23 26 4 22 ---Not Good/Poor--NET Not Good Poor 70 36 34 65 43 22 c. No trend. 4 No opin. 4 9 No opin. 3 6. Which best describes your family's financial situation? Do you feel as if you (are getting ahead financially), have just enough money to maintain your standard of living, or (are falling behind financially)? Getting ahead 30 30 11/15/15 1/8/08 Just enough to maintain 54 55 Falling behind 15 15 No opin. 1 1 7. How many years have you lived in Washington, D.C., or have you lived here your whole life? 0-5 yrs 6-19 yrs 20-39 yrs 11/15/15 27 22 13 1/12/14 17 28 14 5/31/11* 19 25 16 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation 40+ yrs 11 9 11 Whole life 27 33 29 No opinion * * * 8. Are you currently renting the place where you now live, or do you own it? Other/something Renting Own else (vol.) 11/15/15 56 39 4 5/31/11* 49 47 4 1/8/08 44 53 3 1/8/08 RV 38 59 2 7/18/06 RV 43 55 2 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation No opinion 0 * * * 9. If you had to move today, do you think you could (buy a home/ find a rental) in the District that you would like and could afford, or do you think you would have to move to the suburbs to find something you would like and could afford? Could find something Would have to in District move to suburbs 11/15/15 40 56 5/31/11* 48 48 1/8/08 47 49 1/8/08 RV 47 49 7/18/06 RV 44 50 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation No opinion 4 4 4 4 6 10. As you may know, the District government is trying to redevelop parts of the city to attract new businesses and residents. Do you think this process of redevelopment is mainly good or mainly bad for people like you? 11/15/15 1/12/14 2/7/00 11/15/15 RV 1/12/14 RV 7/18/06 RV 2/7/00 RV Mainly good 61 68 79 Mainly bad 36 25 14 No opin. 3 7 8 60 68 72 78 36 25 23 13 3 7 5 8 5 11. Would you support or oppose District government spending one hundred million dollars a year, about one percent of the city budget, to provide affordable housing units for low-income residents? 11/15/15 Support 87 Oppose 10 No opinion 3 12. Which comes closer to your view – (District officials have the power to make the housing in the city more affordable for low-income residents) or (the economic forces behind rising costs of housing are largely beyond the city government’s control)? 11/15/15 District officials have the power 67 Economic forces beyond city government’s control 27 Both (vol.) 3 Neither (vol.) 1 No opin. 3 13. When the District allows homeless families into city shelters, they often stay for several months and the District then helps pay for apartments to live in for about a year. Do you think this process is too generous, not generous enough or about the right amount of assistance for homeless families? 11/15/15 Too generous 9 Not generous enough 31 Right amount of assistance 57 No opinion. 4 14. The District will soon pick about six locations to house 50 homeless families each in order to close the city’s homeless shelter at D.C. General hospital. Would you be very comfortable, somewhat comfortable, not too comfortable or not at all comfortable with the District building one of those facilities in your neighborhood? 11/15/15 ---Very/Somewhat comfortable--Very Somewhat NET comfortable comfortable 79 37 42 ---Not too/at all comfortable-Not too Not at all NET comfortable comfortable 19 12 7 No opin. 2 15. A law is being proposed to provide people working in the District with 16 weeks of paid time off to take care of a newborn child, if they get sick, or to take care of a family member. Benefits for most people would be paid for by a new tax on employers costing about one-percent of workers’ salaries. Would you support or oppose this law? 11/15/15 Support 82 Oppose 15 No opinion 2 ***IF SUPPORT (Q16=1)*** 15a. What if the benefits were paid for by a new tax on workers instead of businesses – would you support or oppose this law? 11/15/15 Support 55 Oppose 43 No opinion 2 NET Q15/15a 11/15/15 Support 45 ---------------- Oppose -------------------NET At first If employees pay No opin. 53 15 36 2 On another subject, 6 No opin. 2 16. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Cathy Lanier is handling her job as D.C. police chief? 11/15/15 9/16/14 Approve 61 71 Disapprove 25 14 No opinion 14 15 Compare to: For each of the following people, please tell me if you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of that person, or perhaps you don’t know enough to say. a. Police Chief Cathy Lanier 1/28/10 1/8/08 ------- Favorable ------NET Strongly Somewhat 68 33 36 69 NA NA ------ Unfavorable -----NET Somewhat Strongly 10 5 5 15 NA NA No opinion 21 16 17. These days, how safe from crime do you feel in your neighborhood? Would you say you feel very safe from crime, somewhat safe, not too safe, or not safe at all? -------Safe---------------Not safe-------NET Very Somewhat NET Not too Not at all 11/15/15 74 23 52 26 18 8 5/31/11* 82 26 55 18 13 5 1/28/10 79 27 52 21 15 6 1/8/08 74 24 50 26 16 11 7/18/06 RV 72 15 57 28 19 8 5/19/02 74 27 47 25 16 9 2/7/00 80 24 56 20 15 5 5/18/98 67 15 52 32 20 12 12/93 57 11 47 43 23 20 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation No opinion * * * 1 * 1 * - 18. Do you think the response of the District police to the rise in murders this year has been too tough, not tough enough, or has it been about right? 11/15/15 Too tough 5 Not tough enough 51 About right 36 No opinion 8 19. Do you support or oppose making it against the law to own any gun in the District? 11/15/15 Support 51 Oppose 47 No opinion 3 20. Do you think outlawing all guns would make the District more safe, less safe or wouldn’t it make a difference? 11/15/15 More safe 42 Less safe 12 Wouldn’t’ make a difference 43 No opinion 2 21. Thinking back to when Vincent Gray was in office, would you say you approve or disapprove of the way Gray handled his job as mayor? [grayapp, grayappnet] -------Approve--------NET Strongly Somewhat -------Disapprove------NET Somewhat Strongly 7 No opin. 11/15/15 39 NA NA 45 NA NA 17 11/15/15 RV 40 NA NA 50 NA NA 10 3/23/14 RV* 46 16 30 45 24 21 9 1/12/14 51 13 37 39 23 16 11 7/17/12 29 9 21 59 24 35 12 5/31/11** 41 10 31 40 26 14 20 *3/23/14 and previous: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Vincent Gray is handling... **Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation 22. As you may know, federal prosecutors have spent four years investigating Gray’s 2010 campaign for mayor but have not filed charges against him. At this time, do you think federal prosecutors should (continue looking into his 2010 campaign), or should they (move on to other issues)? [graytoolong] 11/15/15 Should Continue 30 Should move on 62 No opinion 8 23. How much, if anything, have you heard about members of Mayor Bowser’s 2014 campaign setting up a political action committee that accepted unlimited donations to further the mayor’s agenda? Have you heard a lot, a little or nothing at all? A lot 14 11/15/15 Nothing at all 53 A little 33 No opinion * 24. Would you support or oppose a ban on all campaign contributions to candidates for District elections from individuals or companies who do business with the city or are seeking to do business with the city? 11/15/15 Support 53 Oppose 43 No opinion 5 On another issue, 25. Do you favor or oppose the District of Columbia becoming a separate state? [dcstate] 11/15/15 11/15/15 RV 8/26/10 RV 1/28/10 RV 1/28/10 5/19/02 2/7/00 5/18/98 5/4/97 2/29/96 2/95 12/93 Favor 67 71 59 57 56 66 58 52 46 48 45 51 Oppose 29 26 33 33 34 27 36 38 47 39 48 41 No opin. 4 4 9 10 10 7 6 10 7 13 7 8 26. Do you think the U.S. Congress has (too much), (too little) or about the right amount of control over District affairs these days? [congaffairs] 11/15/15 5/31/11* Too much 71 66 Too little 10 13 About the right amount 15 16 8 No opinion 3 5 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation 27. As you may know, District residents do not have a voting representative in Congress. Is this something that makes you upset, or not? [upsetnovote] 5/11/31 ------- Upset ------NET Very Somewhat 74 49 24 Not upset 25 No opinion 1 28. As you may know, voters in the District passed a law legalizing marijuana for private recreational use last year. Do you support or oppose this law today? Support 11/15/15 69 11/15/15 RV 69 Oppose 28 28 No opinion 2 2 Compare to: As you may know, Initiative 71 is on the ballot. Initiative 71 would legalize the possession of small amounts of Marijuana for personal use by adults 21 and older. If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no on Initiative 71? (IF UNSURE) If you had to decide today, are you leaning more towards voting yes or no? Yes No No opinion 9/16/14 LV* 65 33 2 9/16/14 RV* 65 33 2 * NBC/Washington Post/Marist 29. How often do you smell marijuana smoke in the District these days? Every day, once or twice a week, once or twice a month or less often than that? 11/15/15 ---------- Monthly or more --------Every once/twice Once/twice NET day a week a month 57 19 22 16 Less often 42 No opinion 2 29a. (IF SMELL AT LEAST ONCE/TWICE A MONTH) How much, if at all, does it bother you to smell marijuana smoke in the District- A lot, some, not too much or not at all? 11/15/15 A lot 23 Some 15 Not too much 17 Not at all 45 No opinion * Q29/29a NET TABLE Smell monthly/more Bothers a lot Bothers some Bothers not much/at all No opin Do not smell month/more No opinion 56 13 8 35 * 42 2 30. As you may know, Congress has blocked D.C. from allowing marijuana to be sold and taxed. Do you think the District government should or should not be allowed to regulate and tax the sale of marijuana? 11/15/15 City should be allowed 74 City should not be allowed 23 No opinion 3 9 901. Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as: 11/15/15 7/17/12 5/31/11 1/28/10 1/28/10 RV 1/8/08 1/8/08 RV 7/18/06 RV Democrat 67 65 68 67 70 68 71 69 Republican 6 7 7 7 6 6 5 7 Independent 20 23 23 22 21 22 20 21 Other 5 2 1 2 2 3 3 2 No op. 2 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 ***END*** METHODOLOGICAL DETAILS This poll was sponsored and funded by The Washington Post. The questionnaire was administered with the exact questions in the exact order as appears in this document. Interviews were conducted English. If a question was asked of a reduced base of the sample, a parenthetical preceding the question identifies the group asked. Questions that contain parenthetical phrases indicate clauses that were randomly rotated for respondents. Trended references to results with “LV” or “RV” indicate results among likely voters or registered voters. A dual landline and cell phone telephone sample was generated using Random Digit Dialing procedures by Survey Sampling International (SSI). A supplemental sample of non-202 area code cell phone numbers was drawn from Aristotle, and screened to identify individuals who were cell phone-only. The survey was conducted with 452 respondents reached on landline phones, 553 reached on cellular phones including; 395 respondents were cell phone owners with no landline phone at home, including 202 sampled from the registered voter list. Interviewers called landlines and asked to interview the youngest male or youngest female who is at home at the time, with the male requested 75 percent of the time. Interviewers calling cellular phones interviewed the respondent if they were eligible to participate. This survey uses statistical weighting procedures to account for differential chances of selection depending on phone ownership and to match known demographic benchmarks. The overall adult sample is weighted using a raking procedure to match the demographic makeup of the population by sex, city wards, age, education, race/ethnicity, voter registration status and the share of cell phone only/landline only/dual service household. Sources for weighting targets include the 2009-2013 American Community Survey (age, sex, education, race, city wards), the 2014 Current Population Survey (voter registration) and the 2013 National Health Interview Survey (telephone use). All error margins have been adjusted to account for the survey’s design effect, which is 1.65 in this survey. The design effect is a factor representing the survey’s deviation from a simple random sample, and takes into account decreases in precision due to sample design and weighting procedures. Surveys that do not incorporate a design effect overstate their precision. Contact polls@washpost.com for further information about how The Washington Post conducts polls. 10 Charter Member Transnarencv Initiative AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH 11