Rents control loses, tax on gasoline wins in new California poll

According to a new poll, two of the most controversial measures in the November ballot – repealing the California gas tax and allowing cities to expand rent control – are struggling to gain traction with voters.

According to a poll released Wednesday night by the Public Policy Institute of California, about half of potential voters say they would reject both measures, while a little over a third would support them.

The survey provides a first glimpse of the possible fate of controversial voting measures – affecting either the voters' wallet or the financing of state transport, with traffic problems in the region at stake; another that could play a major role in how the Bay Area area struggles with escalating housing costs that displace their residents.

"What the polls suggest is that the promoters would have a lot of work to do to get the support of the majority," said Mark Baldassare, President and CEO of PPIC,

The poll also highlighted voter preferences in the governor and Senate races – where leaders of Gavin Newsom and Dianne Feinstein have fallen since July. The 964 voters who could participate in the telephone survey were likely to name jobs and the economy, immigration and housing as California's most important concerns.

Forty-eight percent of potential voters said they would reject proposal 10 – a move that would give cities unlimited power to impose rent control by repealing Costa Hawkins, the state's no-cap law. owner rents to charge rents for new tenants at the market rate when long-term tenants leave. Thirty-six percent said they would vote for the measure and 16 percent said they did not know. Residents in the Bay Area area were even less likely to support the measure, with 54% saying they would vote no and 32% that they would vote yes. Even the tenants were against Prop. 10 – 51% of renters rejected the measure, while 43% supported it.

"I am encouraged by the fact that this message is being broadcast," said Matt Regan, Vice President of Public Policy for the Bay Area Council supported by the companies.

Nevertheless, 52% of potential voters were generally in favor of rent control, while only 41% said it was a bad thing.

Eduardo Torres, the organizer of East Bay with Tenants Together, accuses the mediocre vote of Prop. 10 on the opposition campaign. Tenants need to be better informed about Costa Hawkins and how that allows Bay Area rents to continue to skyrocket, he said.

"People get expelled because of laws like Costa Hawkins," he said.

Voters were also more likely to reject Proposal 6 which, if passed, would repeal the 2017 gas tax and license fee increase projected to be $ 5.1 billion by 2020. Fifty-two percent of potential voters said they would vote no, 39% said they would vote yes and 8% said they did not know. Democrats were even more inclined to reject the repeal of the tax on gasoline, while Republicans were inclined to vote for it.

Voters in the Bay Area region aligned with the rest of the state, with 51% saying they would vote no and 43% voting yes. Electors likely to have a family income of less than $ 40,000 a year were more likely to support the repeal than their wealthier peers. But almost everyone agreed that the tax on gasoline would be a crucial issue in the November poll – 84% of potential voters described the problem as very important or somewhat important.

The measure requires 51% of the vote to be adopted.

Mike Gibbs, a 69-year-old Republican from Los Gatos who participated in the CIPP survey, is part of the minority that wants to repeal the tax on gasoline.

"I am not opposed to investing in roads – I just do not trust the government to do it," he said. "They allocate money for one thing, and then they spend it for something else."

But gas tax funds are essential to solving the region's traffic and congestion problems, particularly in South Bay, where public transit is limited compared to the rest of the bay. said Pilar Lorenzana.

"It's a bit comforting to see that people agree that this is a very important funding mechanism that they will keep," she said. November."

In the race for the governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom's lead over his Republican rival John Cox went from 24 points in July to 12 points this month. Fifty-one percent of potential voters surveyed this month said they would vote for Newsom, while 39 percent voted for Cox. Senator Dianne Feinstein on challenger Kevin de Leon also dropped from 22 points in July to 11 points.