Phone call was a disgusting, sham survey
On Aug. 28, a lady telephoned me
identifying herself as working for a California opinion research company. She
said that she wanted to ask me questions about the city of Irvine. As a
professor who has evaluated survey research articles for academic journals, I
agreed to participate in the lengthy survey.
Her survey was the most disgusting, sham survey I have ever known.
The lady started by asking me whether I would be voting for Bill Simon or Gray
Davis for governor.
Then, she asked me to rate how favorably or unfavorably I regard Larry Agran.
That was an easy question to answer because anyone who voted in the 1992
presidential election remembers the media coverage of Larry Agran as a Democrat
running for president against Bill Clinton.
Democrats rewarded Larry Agran with 331 votes in the New Hampshire primary
election.
Then, the lady used the procedure of providing me with one "fact" at
a time about Larry Agran's accomplishments. After each new "fact" she
asked me to rate Larry Agran again.
She repeated this process for others involved in city council politics, except
for three candidates: Mike House, Christina Shea, and Chuck DeVore. For these
three candidates, the lady provided new "facts" about
"irresponsible" actions, or other negative descriptions, and asked me
to rate each candidate again.
It became obvious that someone has funded an effort to use legitimate
scientific survey research methods as a cover for spreading rumors and for
designing future negative mailings to voters in Irvine.
As a relative newcomer to Irvine, I appreciate the educational experience
provided by a lady who did not give her name or the name of the person or
organization funding this sham survey. I urge this lady to submit to the Irvine
World News for publication the complete text of the survey and to disclose who
authored and funded this lengthy survey.
In response to this disgusting, sham survey, I shall be voting for and
contributing money to Mike House, Christina Shea, and Chuck DeVore for Irvine
City Council.
Paul Sheldon Foote
Published: Irvine World News, September 12, 2002