Californians are taking an increasingly dim view of the governor andmembers of state legislature, according to a new Field Poll released onFriday.
The poll shows that nearly three out of four surveyrespondents -- some 74 percent -- say they do not approve of the jobthat members of the California Legislature are doing -- likely areflection of their deep dissatisfaction surrounding the state'smangled and heavily politicized budget process.
"This is the poorest rating of the state legislature ever recorded by The Field Poll intrend measures dating back to the early 1980s," survey heads MervinField and Mark DiCamillo said in a statement about the dismal numbers.
Thecurrent poll finds that voters' job appraisals of the governor andstate legislature are related to their voting preferences in theupcoming May 19 special election. The measures appearing on the ballot,Props. 1A-1F, were hatched by Republican lawmakers last February aspart of a last-minute deal with state Democratic leaders to securetheir votes so that an actual state spending plan could finally bepassed.
A Field Poll released last week found that more likely voters were intending to votewill vote "no" rather than "yes" on each of the first five ballotmeasures that are featured in the election. Those measures have beennearly universally supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and manylegislative leaders.
Thepoll also revealed that a record number of Californians are not happywith the performance of their celebrity chief executive.
Thecurrent survey finds just 33 percent of registered voters approve ofthe job Schwarzenegger is doing, while 55 percent disapprove -- numbersthat also represent new lows amongst the 23 Field Poll voter surveys ofSchwarzenegger since he took office in 2003.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor "gets" that Californians are upset with the status quo.
"(He) understands thatpeople are frustrated with the dysfunction in Sacramento, which isexactly why he is pushing so hard for the ballot measures so Californiacan get back to financial stability," McLear said.
Fieldand DiCamillo said that voters' low approval ratings of the governorare shared almost evenly among Democrats, Republicans andnon-partisans, with 52 - 57 percent majorities, respectively,disapproving of his performance.
Interestingly,the pollsters found that Schwarzenegger's approval rating is highest(45 percent) among voters in the nine-county Democratically-dominatedSan Francisco Bay Area, while his lowest ratings, 67 percent, werefound in the generally more moderate Los Angeles County area.
Field and DiCamillo said the poll surveyed 901 registered voters wastaken April 16-26 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4percent.
Follow Jeff Mitchell's political journalism at BAPolitix.org