FINAL RESULTS: Oakland Voter Survey

Sample Size: 400

Margin of Error: +/-4.9%
Interview Dates: October 16-18, 2021

Select: Registered Oakland voters, with working telephone numbers or email

addresses in the state voter file, likely to vote in November 2022.

Results may not add to 100 due to rounding.

SECTION 1. SCREENING AND MOOD

1. IF CELL PHONE: Are you in a safe place where you can take a survey over your cell phone?

Yes 100

2. Are you employed as a news reporter, an elected official, staff to an elected official, or as a high-level
employee of local government?

No 100

3. In November of next year, there will be an election for governor, members of Congress, and state and
local offices.

What are the chances that you will vote in that election?

Please use a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 means you will definitely vote and 0 means you will definitely not
vote, and 5 means you’re 50/50.

6 0
7 0
8 4
9 4
10 92

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4. Just in general, do you think things in Oakland are moving in the right direction or are they off on the
wrong track?

Right direction 17
Wrong track 63
Don’t know 20

5. Would you say that the overall quality of life in Oakland has become better in the past few years, become
worse, or stayed about the same?

Better 8
Worse 66
Stayed about the same 23
Don’t know 3

6. And what do you feel are the major issues facing Oakland today?

Homelessness/ Panhandling 49
Affordable Housing/ Cost of Rents 23
Crime/ Public Safety 47
Transportation/ Infrastructure 4
Education 5
Poverty/ Income Inequality 6
Gentrification/ Displacement 4
Illegal Dumping/ Trash in Streets 9
Cost of Living 3
Corruption/ Government 3
Growth/ Development/ Land use 1
Not Enough Police/ Inadequate Police 8
The Economy/ Jobs 5
Taxes 1
Police Brutality/ Racial Profiling 2
Social Issues – Abortion/ Gay Marriage/ Racism 3
Traffic 2
Healthcare 2
The Budget 2
Health of Small/ Local Business 0
Other 3
Pandemic 1
Climate / Environment 2
Don't know 4

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 SECTION 2. ELECTIONS

As you may know, in Oakland City elections, voters are asked to rank their top choices for candidate contests.

7. Understanding that the election is still far away, and you may want more information about the
candidates before making a decision, if the election for Mayor of Oakland were held today and these were
the candidates, who would be your first choice?
8. IF CHOICE: And who would be your second choice?

Q7 Q8 Total
Loren Taylor, City Councilmember 9 2 11
Sheng Thao, City Councilmember 3 4 6
Treva Reid, City Councilmember 3 1 4
Rebecca Kaplan, City Councilmember 14 6 20
Ces Butner, Port Commissioner 1 1 1
Derreck Johnson, Small Business Owner 2 2 4
Ignacio De La Fuente, Former City Councilmember 3 4 7
Greg Hodge, Youth Development Consultant 2 2 3
Ken Houston, Community Advocate 1 1 2
Phil Tagami, Oakland Developer 2 0 2
Completely undecided 62 17 79
Would not vote 0 1 1
No Second Choice -- 62 62

9. If the election for Oakland City Auditor were held today, would you vote to…

Reelect Courtney Ruby 18

Replace Courtney Ruby 10
Undecided 72
Would not vote 1

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 SECTION 3. FAVORABILITY

(Now I’m going to read / Next are) the names of some individuals. For each one, please (tell me / indicate) if you
have a favorable or unfavorable opinion. If you have not heard of the name, just (say so indicate that).

FAVORABLE UNFAVORABLE NO OPINION SUMMARY

Have
Heard
Some- Some- Not Favor- Unfavor
Strongly Strongly of, no
what what Heard able -able
opinion
Of
10. Mayor Libby Schaaf 13 25 19 35 6 3 37 54
11. City Councilmember Loren Taylor 7 13 8 7 18 47 20 15
12. City Councilmember Sheng Thao 3 12 8 6 17 54 16 14
13. City Councilmember Treva Reid 4 11 6 6 20 53 15 12
14. City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan 15 26 12 23 12 13 41 35
15. City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas 8 12 7 12 17 45 20 19
16. Port Commissioner Ces Butner 2 5 3 4 15 72 7 7
17. Small Business Owner Derreck Johnson 5 11 8 5 16 56 16 12
18. Former City Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente 6 16 13 15 19 32 22 28
19. Youth Development Consultant Greg Hodge 3 8 4 4 18 64 11 7
20. Community Advocate Ken Houston 3 5 5 6 15 66 9 11
21. Oakland Developer Phil Tagami 4 4 9 16 16 52 8 25
22. City Auditor Courtney Ruby 6 13 7 6 19 49 19 13

23. Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way the Oakland City Council is handling its job?

Approve strongly 3
→25%
Approve somewhat 22
Disapprove somewhat 26
→63%
Disapprove strongly 37
Don’t know 13

24. Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the job Libby Schaaf is doing as Mayor?

Approve strongly 11
→35%
Approve somewhat 24
Disapprove somewhat 22
→60%
Disapprove strongly 37
Don’t know 6

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 25. Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the job Courtney Ruby is doing as City Auditor?

Approve strongly 6
→20%
Approve somewhat 13
Disapprove somewhat 7
→17%
Disapprove strongly 10
Don’t know 64

SECTION 4. MAYOR OF OAKLAND

26. Because of term limits in Oakland, Mayor Libby Schaaf is not eligible to run for reelection next year. If
Mayor Schaaf could run again, would you vote to reelect her or to replace her?

Reelect 25
Replace 58
Don’t know 18

27. If Mayor Schaaf endorsed a candidate for Mayor of Oakland, would her endorsement make you [ROTATE]
[more likely to vote for that candidate], [less likely to vote for that candidate], or would it make no
difference in your vote?

Much more likely 7

→26%
Somewhat more likely 19
Would make no difference 30
Somewhat less likely 11
→35%
Much less likely 24
Don’t know 9

(Now I’m going to read / Next are) some things a candidate for Mayor might focus on. Please (tell me, indicate)
whether each would make you more likely to vote for that candidate, less likely to vote for that candidate, or if it
would make no difference in your vote.

MORE LIKELY LESS LIKELY SUMMARY

No Don’t
Some- difference Some- know More Less
Much Much
what what Likely Likely

28. Reducing crime 59 21 11 2 3 5 80 5

29. Defunding the police 21 12 14 10 38 4 33 48
30. Creating jobs 49 31 15 1 1 4 80 2
31. Making housing more affordable 61 21 10 2 5 2 82 6
32. Reducing homelessness 79 14 4 1 1 2 93 1
33. Protecting industrial jobs 28 31 29 5 2 6 59 7
34. Adding more police 38 16 14 12 18 3 53 30
35. Attracting tech companies to Oakland 27 24 20 13 14 4 50 27
Promoting commercial and residential
36. 33 28 16 10 7 6 62 17
development in Oakland

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 SECTION 5. CRIME

37. Next, how much are you personally concerned about crime in Oakland?

Very concerned 67
Somewhat concerned 20
Slightly concerned 8
Not concerned at all 5
Don’t know 1

38. Do you think that crime in Oakland is…

Getting better 3
Getting worse 73
Staying the same 19
Don’t know 5

39. Which of the following are you personally most concerned about?

Property crime such as theft or car break-ins 26

Violent crime such as assault or gun violence 67
Don’t know 7

40. How safe do you personally feel from property crime, like car break-ins and theft?

Very safe 6
→29%
Somewhat safe 23
Somewhat unsafe 34
→68%
Very unsafe 34
Don’t know 1
Prefer not to say 2

41. How safe do you personally feel from violent crime, like assault or gun violence?

Very safe 10
→39%
Somewhat safe 29
Somewhat unsafe 32
→58%
Very unsafe 26
Don’t know 1
Prefer not to say 2

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 Next please (tell me / indicate) whether you support or oppose the following proposals for Oakland to address
crime and public safety.

SUPPORT OPPOSE SUMMARY

Don’t
Some- Some- know
Strongly Strongly Support Oppose
what what

Hiring more police and increasing their presence

42. 42 23 13 16 6 65 29
in downtown, Chinatown and our neighborhoods
Putting more resources into addressing
43. homelessness, chemical dependency, mental 79 14 2 3 2 92 6
health, and other root causes of crime
Shifting a portion of police funding toward
44. 53 21 8 15 4 74 22
programs to address root causes of crime
Putting more resources into both increasing the
45. police force and funding programs to address root 51 22 15 7 6 73 22
causes of crime

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 SECTION 6. DEMOGRAPHICS

46. What is your age?

Under 35 24
35-44 20
45-54 16
55-64 16
65+ 25
Prefer not to say 0

47. Which of the following best describes you?

Latino or Hispanic 11
White or Caucasian 35
Black or African American 34
Asian American or Pacific Islander 11
Native American 1
Middle Eastern or North African 1
A combination of these (SPECIFY: ______) 3
Something else (SPECIFY: ______) 0
Prefer not to say 5

48. IF SELF-IDENTIFIED ASIAN-AMERICAN: Are you…? (n=44)

Chinese 39
Filipino 9
Vietnamese 11
Japanese 7
Korean 5
South Asian 5
Southeast Asian 14
Pacific Islander 0
Other (Specify: _____) 9
Prefer not to say 2

49. Which best describes your educational background?

High school graduate or less 4

Some college or associate’s degree 19
Technical school or vocational degree 3
College graduate 38
Post graduate degree 34
Prefer not to say 3

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50. How many years have you lived in Oakland?

1 Year or Less 2
2-5 Years 14
6-10 Years 12
11-20 Years 23
21-30 Years 18
More than 30 Years 29
Prefer not to say 3

51. Do you have children under the age of 18 living at home?

Yes 23
No 77
Prefer not to say 1

52. Do you currently own or rent your home or apartment, or do you have another housing situation?

Own 53
Rent 39
Other 7
Prefer not to say 1

53. IF RENT: Is your apartment rent controlled? (n=157)

Yes 36
No 50
Don’t know 11
Prefer not to say 3

54. Which of the following best describes your political ideology?

Progressive 40
Liberal 28
Moderate 20
Conservative 6
Other (Specify: _____) 1
Don’t know 6

55. For whom did you vote in the 2020 election for President, or did you skip that election?

Donald Trump 4
Joe Biden 82
Someone else 8
Don’t remember 0
Prefer not to say 6

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56. And do you consider yourself heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian, or something else?

Heterosexual 72
Bisexual 6
Gay/Lesbian 13
Other (____) 4
Don’t know 1
Prefer not to say 5

57. IF ONLINE: Are you…?

IF PHONE: RECORD GENDER

Female 56
Male 44
Other (Specify: _____) 0

58. RECORD PARTY:

DEMOCRAT 77
REPUBLICAN 4
NO PARTY PREFERENCE 16
MINOR PARTY 3

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