A survey conducted by the polling company regularly used by Ed Lee to demonstrate support for his plans and proposals has some bad news for the San Francisco Mayor: His approval ratings are way down, and an awful lot of people are bummed out by the current direction of the city.
Matier and Ross report that between November 30 and December 6, 540 registered voters responded to a poll conducted by Oakland-based EMC Research, which you might recall from Lee-commissioned surveys on topics like how San Franciscans don't hate tech, residents opposed 2014's Muni bond and soda tax, and if people supported Lee's 2011 run for Mayor.
This time around, it was the Mission Bay Alliance (that's the group of folks opposing the Warriors' SF Arena) paying EMC's bill. According to M&R, this winter "Lee’s favorable rating among voters surveyed had plunged to 43 percent. That’s a whopping 18-point drop since a similar poll in March."
This poll also marks the first time since back when he was named "interim" mayor in 2011 that "Lee’s negatives — 49 percent — are greater than his favorable ratings," they report.
Also taking a hit since March are respondents' overall sentiments about the direction of the city. In March, 50 percent said that SF was on the "right track." This time around, only 25 percent felt that way.
In March, only 38 percent thought that “things have gotten pretty seriously off-track” in SF. This winter, that shot up to 52 percent.
While I doubt former SF Mayor and current Chron columnist Willie Brown got a call from an EMC researcher, he's not hiding his displeasure with the mayor, either. In this Sunday's Chron, Brown calls out Lee's response to the caught-on-video San Francisco Police Department shooting of Mario Woods, which happened the evening of December 2 (in the middle of EMC's polling period, I should note).
"Mayor Ed Lee’s consensus style of governing works well when it comes to putting together and passing a housing bond," Brown writes (or, more accurately, dictates to a long-suffering Chron staffer). "It leaves something to be desired, however, when dealing with a crisis like the police shooting of Mario Woods."
"This is a crisis situation," Brown writes, "and the mayor should handle it like one...but in the Woods shooting, Lee looks more like an interested observer than the boss."
Related: Mayor Ed Lee's Vision For San Francisco
Mayor: Video Of SFPD Officers Shooting Mario Woods 'Raised Questions'