2010 Constituent Survey Results
For those who took my survey, thank you. Below you will find a breakdown of the responses and a sampling of the comments I've received. A few results of note:
- Regarding transportation solutions that are “Very Important”, 67% of respondents noted raising the gas tax by .05/gal, and 61% said expanding the ability of a locality to impose “impact fees” on development. Only 12% ranked transferring money from General Fund items like schools and public safety and only 17% ranked spending no new money on transportation “Very Important.”
- There was a mix of responses about what methods are most important to supporting education, but the majority of respondents agreed that we must find a fair way to fund schools and reward teachers. One respondent noted, ““The main thing we need to do is to fund [schools] properly. Since they are funded locally, it is important that the state should live up to its responsibilities to the localities, so that the localities will have the ability to fund the schools.”
- The top priorities ranked “Very Important” by a majority of respondents were “improving access to health care,” “sound fiscal policies,” “improving education,” and “expanding the use of renewable energy.”
I appreciate your input and I will keep it in mind as we strive to balance the budget here in Richmond.
-- David Toscano
Priorities
| Very Important | Somewhat Important | Not Very Important | Not at all important | Don't Know | |
| Increasing Affordable Housing | 42.60% | 38.80% | 12.40% | 6.20% | 0.00% |
| Improving Access to Health Care | 69.30% | 21.20% | 4.70% | 4.70% | 0.00% |
| Reducing Poverty | 51.90% | 33.80% | 9.00% | 3.30% | 1.90% |
| Increasing the Minimum Wage | 35.10% | 36.10% | 18.30% | 8.70% | 1.90% |
| Reducing Taxes | 13.50% | 15.50% | 32.90% | 35.30% | 2.90% |
| Sound Fiscal Policies | 75.50% | 21.10% | 1.00% | 0.00% | 2.50% |
| Improving Education | 71.60% | 24.00% | 3.40% | 1.00% | 0.00% |
| Reducing Crime | 34.10% | 44.40% | 18.00% | 2.90% | 0.50% |
| Limiting Growth | 24.30% | 37.90% | 21.80% | 12.60% | 3.40% |
| Medical malpractice reform | 36.50% | 29.30% | 22.60% | 7.20% | 4.30% |
| Expanding use of renewable energy | 64.60% | 27.70% | 4.40% | 2.40% | 1.00% |
Transportation
“If it would help to develop public transportation options and intelligent rail options for passenger and freight, I would support raising the gas tax even higher to provide necessary funding.”
“Until economy shows significant improvement, I oppose any NEW spending; I also recognize the need for funds for maintenance, repair, safety issues for existing roads/transportation. There are a lot of projects I would like to see undertaken (how about high-speed rail throughout the country??!!); however, now is not the time to increase taxes for desired but unnecessary projects.”
Preschool & K-12 Education
“Teachers (especially in the public schools) are the backbone of our society in so many ways. I hope we can find ways to reward them & support the essential work they do.”
“The main thing we need to do is to fund [schools] properly. Since they are funded locally, it is important that the state should live up to its responsibilities to the localities, so that the localities will have the ability to fund the schools.”
“Science and common sense show the brain learns most between 0-6mo, then up to 3 years. Without good preschool programs we lose a lot of brain power that makes the K-12 program MUCH more difficult.”
Higher Education
Economic Opportunity & Fairness
“We should make the state income tax as progressive as possible -- rather than tax the poor by such things as a food tax. The wealthy can afford to give more.”
“Virginia is one of the lowest states in funding mental health services ( 39th) and continues to cut resources for our most vulnerable citizens. Jails are becoming the new homes for the mentally ill, which is extremely cost ineffective. Community services MUST be maintained for the health and safety of everyone.”
Climate Change & Environmental Stewardship
“If it makes economic sense, then people will add conservation measures into home building anyway. No need for government intervention.”
“I believe that who should be giving tax credits to homeowners to ‘retrofit’ their existing homes to be more energy efficient, and emphasize that over building new homes. That being said, we should do everything we reasonably can to encourage new homes to green.”
“We have wasted enough time, money, lives and non-renewable energy already. We can't keep kicking this can down the road.”
