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Political phone survey leaves few clues
Jun 12, 2009 (North Adams Transcript - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
NORTH ADAMS TRANSCRIPT
NORTH ADAMS -- A mysterious Alabama-based political telemarketing group has begun calling city residents with questions about the upcoming mayoral race candidates, the economy and other local democrats. However, the question remains: Who is behind the poll?
Both the state Democratic and Republican committees have denied any involvement with the survey, as well as mayoral candidate Richard J. Alcombright.
"I haven't received a call myself, but I've had a few supporters call and tell me about the poll," Alcombright said on Wednesday. "I want to make it clear that my campaign has nothing to do with this telephone survey."
Mayor John Barrett III declined to comment.
Calls and e-mail messages to The Parker Group, a Birmingham, Ala., data collection agency which has been accused of "push polling" tactics in numerous states, went unanswered on Wednesday and Thursday. Push polls are a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll.
According to several residents who want to remain anonymous, representatives identifying themselves as employees of The Parker Group have been calling local residents and asking them to participate in a survey about the city, which includes questions about political affiliation and the number of children the household has in the local school district.
Other questions
asked during the phone call include, "John Barrett has been mayor of North Adams for several years. Do you believe he deserves to be re-elected or is it time for someone new?," "If the election were held today, would you vote for John Barrett or Dick Alcombright?," "When dealing with the budget crisis, is it important to have a mayor that has the experience to manage the crisis, or someone new to bring change?" and "Given the state of the economy, do you think the mayor is doing everything he can to manage the budget crisis?"
The survey also asks questions about Gov. Deval Patrick, U.S. Rep. John Olver, state Rep. Daniel Bosley, state Sen. Benjamin Downing and Berkshire County Sheriff Carmen Massimiano Jr., whether or not anyone in the household works for the city or is part of a labor union.
State Democratic Committee Executive Director Stacey Monahan said that even though the survey is made to sound as if her party is behind it, her organization has "not a speck of involvement in this."
Likewise, state GOP Executive Director Nick Connors said his party is "not the one conducting the survey," although the party is reportedly looking to rebrand the Republican image and take a more grassroots approach at the local level.
To reach Jennifer Huberdeau, e-mail jhuberdeau@thetranscript.com.
To see more of the North Adams Transcript, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go
to http://www.thetranscript.com. Copyright (c) 2009, North Adams Transcript,
Mass. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
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