Prop. 2 vs. Prop. 1: Percentages
Prop. 1 got hammered even harder than Prop. 2, which was expected; the Open Government amendment managed to out-perform the SOS measure in only four boxes, while tying in five others. But given that both sides more or less consistently campaigned for or against the two measures as a set, the variation in voter response to each is notable. It’s not surprising that an “anti-corruption” measure would appeal to a different kind of voter than a “pro-environment” measure, and so the second map shows.
Citywide, Prop. 2 out-performed Prop. 1 by 7.4%; so the red boxes are those where Prop. 1 did worse than average, and the blue where it did better, relative to its companion measure. Almost all of the boxes where Prop. 2 actually won (as shown on the other map) are deep red here, a sure sign that the SOS Alliance-led coalition really failed to make the sale on Prop. 1 to its core constituency. But so are many other boxes, including a big string of lakeside precincts which failed to plump for “saving the springs” but probably hated spending millions in tax money even more. Conversely, while many of the deep blue boxes here, particularly those on the west side, are ones where both props went down in flames of equal heat, there are also many other such boxes � such as those in the east and north � where voters evinced some degree of sympathy for the anti-corruption message. Not enough, obviously, but some.
This article appears in May 19 • 2006.