City survey questioned

Pollster given no-bid contract donates to Keller campaign

September 30, 2005

MARY AMES

and MARK KELSEY/Frontiersman reporters

WASILLA - According to some residents who have read it, the recently released City of Wasilla Community Survey doesn't present a true picture of the city.

"It was a feel-good exercise," Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny, one of a handful of citizens who regularly attend council meetings, said of the survey.

Questions have been raised about the motivation behind the survey, which was commissioned by Mayor Dianne M. Keller, awarded last spring in a $15,900 no-bid contract to Anchorage-based Dittman Research Corp. of Alaska, and released just before the Oct 4 election. According to city code, the mayor doesn't need the council's approval for expenditures of less than $30,000.

"[The survey] paints a rosy picture for the people who hired them," Wasilla resident Dianne Woodruff said. "It's not necessarily a true picture."

Woodruff and Kilkenny attended Monday's City Council meeting, where pollster Dave Dittman gave a brief synopsis of the survey in a Power Point presentation.

The choice of Dittman, who works almost exclusively for Republicans, fueled suspicions that the survey would be used as a campaign tool by Keller, a Republican. When Dittman turned up in Alaska Public Offices Commission listings as a $200 contributor to Keller's campaign after finishing the survey, suspiciions were amplified.

"If that (contract) came to the council, it probably wouldn't have happened," said Wasilla City Council member Mark Ewing, a frequent critic of Keller. "There is a shroud of doubt when someone earns [$15,000] and turns around and donates to the campaign. The timing was wrong. In an election year, it could be construed as a pre-election survey."

Ewing said he was especially concerned about the accuracy and intent of the survey when he noticed his written comments were not included. The questions were put together to make it hard for someone with a negative opinion to express it, he said.

"There were few comments about the mayor on the survey," Ewing said. "I'd like an independent tally of the responses. I combed through the comments three times. Mine weren't there. With 558 responses and hardly any negative comments about the mayor? I don't buy it. I hear differently from people every day."

Keller disagreed, saying criticism is coming only from people who don't want her re-elected.

"It's absurd to even think that," she said. "This horse is pretty strongly one color."

Keller defended the survey, saying it was contracted in accordance with city code the same way other professional service contracts have been executed under her administration.

"In order to determine how we're doing, we have to ask the customers we serve," she said. "We were happy about the results. It also told us what else we needed to work on. That's a very valuable tool."

Dittman admitted Ewing's comments were not included, but denied any partisan favoritism in choosing what comments he included or in how he set up or analyzed the survey.

"I can see how someone might think that, but look at the product and come to your own conclusion," Dittman said. "Just evaluate the product. The work should stand on its own merit."

While he acknowledged that the vast majority of

his work is done for Republicans, he denied the common perception that he is a Republican pollster.

"I would never characterize myself as a Republican pollster. By virtue of their success (in Alaska), I end up working for them. It's a choice that (Republicans) make. People who say that probably don't know fully what they're talking about," said Dittman, who has contributed thousands of dollars since 1998 to the Republican party and an array of political candidates, almost exclusively Repub-lican, according to APOC filings.

Dittman said his contribution to Keller's campaign is not evidence of any quid pro quo deal for his services.

"I contributed to Mayor Keller's campaign, and that's the end of that," Dittman said. "It says simply that I support her."

But Ivan Moore, another longtime Anchorage pollster who got his start working for Republicans but now does most of his work for Democrats, said people are right to question the contribution and the credibility of the survey, although he was clear that he did not think Dittman would skew a survey for political or financial reasons.

"It gives the appearance that you're not impartial if you're contributing money to one side or the other," said Moore, who is listed as an occasional contributor to campaigns by APOC. "Because of my position and what I do and the impressions I have to give people in my line of work, as a rule I don't contribute money to political campaigns."

Andrew Halcro, a former Republican Anchorage legislator and likely independent candidate for governor, has used both Moore and Dittman over his years in public office. He said appearances are important, especially when public money is involved.

"(Pollsters) can give with one hand and take with the other. That's why the public doesn't trust government," he said. "I don't think it's a serious problem, but it should be clearly reported. You should just avoid all appearance of conflict."

Six-term Republican Rep. Vic Kohring, who represents Wasilla in the state Legislature and has used Anchorage pollster Mark Hellenthal in the past, said credibility is important. But accurate poll results, he said, are the best motivator for any in the polling business.

"It would behoove them to be as careful as they can be. If there's any hint of bias, it would hurt them in the long run," he said. "If you're cranking out misleading (information), it's going to hurt you. That should motivate them to be accurate and not biased."

Dittman said his numerous campaign contributions have been a natural extension of his dedication to his work.

"It's being a part of the team, you're committed, you're putting your money where your mouth is," he said. "To refuse to support something monetarily that you're working hard for, it's almost backwards to think that you wouldn't do it."

Moore disagreed. He said the nature of the business, which also includes consulting and strategizing on campaigns, makes it easy for business and politics to intertwine.

"Of course it goes on. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours," Moore said. "I'm not saying it's the case with Dittman, but of course it goes on. To imagine that it doesn't go on is very naive."

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@frontiersman.com.