Poll: Voters who dumped tax knew what they were doing

Voters made an informed choice last month when they rejected a plan to extend a property tax and use the estimated $3.2 million annually to pay for programs designed to create jobs.

That was among the findings of a telephone poll commissioned by backers of the measure after the April 7 city election, when Question 1A was defeated, according to Sarah Jack, a political consultant who worked for the Jobs Now campaign.

"The voters were thoughtful," Jack said. "They understood it, and they read it, and they got it - and they just didn't support it."

Jack wouldn't reveal details on the findings of the poll, but she said it was not designed to test the waters for another city tax measure in the November election. That possibility was raised by Sean Paige, the head of an opposing group called Local Liberty Action, when he wrote about the poll in his online blog April 28. Jack said the Jobs Now organization is not pursuing another tax measure.

"It was an exit poll, what you call a post-election survey. It wasn't anything else," she said.

The poll in late April was among the last activities of Jobs Now, which was formed to support the ballot measure. The cost of the poll isn't reflected on Jobs Now's latest campaign finance disclosure report, filed Thursday at the Colorado Springs City Clerk's Office.

The bill might have come in after the deadline for reporting, Jack said.

The reports show Jobs Now strengthened its position as the biggest money raiser in the campaign. But the reports show big money doesn't always win in politics, a Gazette review found. Jobs Now reported spending $172,742.69 through the campaign, which translates to $6.56 for every vote in favor of Question 1A. An opposing group called Citizens for Cost-Effective Government spent $4,930.93, or 11 cents per vote.

The six City Council candidates and two ballot issue campaigns reported receiving a collective $236,360 from 338 donations. Nearly all the money - 81 percent - came from donations from companies.

City Council candidate Bernie Herpin had 121 donations, by far the largest number. He won a term representing council District 4.

The Gazette created an online database of contributions to help people look at the details of who's giving money go local campaigns. The database is at gazette.com/campaignfinance.