UCI

Purpose

1. To provide decision makers in the private and public sectors with valid and current information on Orange County adult residents.
2. To track shifts in important attitudes and population characteristics over time.
3. To study the social, economic and political issues of Orange County from a non-advocacy position.
4. To help establish public discussion and enlightened debate in furthering public policy.

Acknowledgements

The 1997 Orange County Annual Survey, UCI, is the sixteenth report in the series. We continue to monitor the economic, political and social trends in Orange County. This year, we also have a special focus on the proposed airport, local public schools, charitable attitudes and behavior, and political orientation. Whenever possible, we compare Orange County to the nation on a number of important issues. In addition, we examine the survey responses of the county's rapidly growing Latino population.

Many people were involved in this ongoing project. Cheryl Katz co-authored the final report and was centrally involved with me in the research design, statistical analysis and writing. We also conducted mail surveys of community leaders in order to test topics and questions for the survey in spring 1997. The survey data were collected through telephone interviews by Interviewing Services of America of Van Nuys, CA.

The Steering Committee ranked the topics for study this year as part of the mail survey of community leaders. Members of the Advisory Committee met with me during the year to review the results of the community leaders' survey and other studies and to offer suggestions for survey issues. I greatly appreciate their time and efforts. The names and affiliations of the committee members are listed in the appendices.

This survey is funded by contributions from 30 local corporations, public agencies and private foundations. I thank those listed on the following page, whose generous support made the 1997 Orange County Annual Survey possible.

1997 Financial Contributors

C.J. Segerstrom and Sons
City of Irvine
County of Orange
Deloitte and Touche
Disneyland
Experian
Fidelity Investments
Fieldstone
Fluor Daniel
Goodwill Industries of Orange County
GTE
Irvine Ranch Water District
Los Angeles Times Orange County Edition
Merrill Lynch
Nelson Communications
Nordstrom
Orange County Division, League of California Cities
Orange County Register
Orange County Transportation Authority
Pacific Mutual
PacifiCare Health Systems
Sprint PCS
Taco Bell
The Boeing Company
The Irvine Company
Transportation Corridor Agencies
UCI Foundation
United Way of Orange County
Western Digital
Western National Properties

Introduction

This sixteenth report of the Orange County Annual Survey, UCI examines several topics of relevance in Orange County. We continue to track trends over time in the county’s social, economic and political arenas. We also have a special focus on the proposed airport, local public schools, charitable behavior and attitudes, and political orientation.

Here are the questions we seek to answer in the 1997 survey:

1. Have ratings of the Orange County economy, quality of life and expectations for the future shown any change in the past year?
2. Are residents’ attitudes toward the county government improving over time?
3. Is there public support for building a commercial airport at the site of the closing El Toro Marine Corps Air Station? What would residents most prefer to do with the base? How do they want to meet the county’s air travel needs? Do they approve of the county government's handling of this issue?
4. How do residents rate the local public schools? Are they willing to pay higher taxes for school improvements? Would they consider changing voting requirements for increasing school taxes and school bonds from a two-thirds majority to a simple majority?
5. What are the recent trends in consumer confidence? How do Latinos and high-income residents view their personal finances and the future prospects for the economy?
6. What are the most important public policy problems in Orange County today? What social problems top the list of residents’ concerns?
7. Have perceptions of owning a home in Orange County continued to improve among homeowners and renters? What are the trends in housing payments?
8. What are the trends in commuting perceptions and freeway attitudes? How do residents rate the way Measure M transportation sales tax funds are being used?
9. What are the major motivating factors for giving time and money to charitable causes? How many residents give through payroll deductions, claim charitable deductions on their federal income taxes or have left a bequest to a charity in a will? How many have been asked to give to charities? How does the county compare to the nation? How much money did residents donate last year, and how many volunteered their time to charities?
10. How do political attitudes in Orange County differ from those in national surveys? Do Latinos express opinions that are in the political mainstream for Orange County?

Methods

The Orange County Annual Survey, UCI, was co-directed by Mark Baldassare, professor and chair of urban and regional planning, and Cheryl Katz, research associate. The random telephone survey included interviews with 1,002 Orange County adult residents between Sept. 4-Sept. 14, 1997. We follow the methods used in the 15 previous surveys.

Interviewing was conducted on weekend days and weekday nights, using a computer-generated random sample of telephone numbers. Within a household, adult respondents were randomly chosen for interviews. Each interview included 66 questions and took an average of 20 minutes to complete. The interviewing was conducted in English and Spanish, as needed. The completion rate for the survey was 66 percent. This rate is consistent with earlier Orange County Annual Surveys. The fieldwork was conducted by Interviewing Services of America of Van Nuys, CA.

The survey sample was compared to the U.S. Census and state figures by city for Orange County and was found to represent the actual regional distribution of Orange County residents. The sample's demographic characteristics were also closely comparable to the census and other survey data including previous Orange County Annual Surveys.

The sampling error for this survey is +/- 3 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. This means that 95 times out of 100, the results will be within 3 percentage points of what they would be if all adults in Orange County were interviewed. The sampling error for any subgroup would be larger. Sampling error is just one type of error to which surveys are subject. Results may also be affected by question wording, ordering, and survey timing.

Throughout the report, we refer to four geographic regions. North County includes Anaheim, Orange, Villa Park, La Habra, Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, Placentia and Yorba Linda. West County includes La Palma, Cypress, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Westminster, Midway City, Stanton, Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach. Central County includes Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Tustin, Tustin Foothills and Costa Mesa. South Countyincludes Newport Beach, Irvine, Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Portola Hills, Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto de Caza, Trabuco Highlands, El Toro Station, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. In the analysis of the questions on the proposed airport, we divide the county into North County and South County, with Newport Beach included in the northern region.

1997 UCI Faculty and Staff Participants

Co-directors

Mark Baldassare, Professor and Chair of Urban and Regional Planning
Cheryl Katz, Research Associate

School of Social Ecology

Mandy Krawitz, Administrative Support

Barbara Lewis, Administrative Support
Melanie Craig, Business Office

University Advancement

Richard Elbaum, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Communications
Susan Menning, Director of Publications
Sherry Angel, Acting Director of Public Information
Mary Pickering, New Media Technologies Manager

1997 Steering Committee

Thomas Acker, The Boeing Company
Hank Adler, Deloitte & Touche
Jim Asp, UC Irvine University Advancement
Jammie Baugh, Nordstrom
Peter Case, Merrill Lynch
Maria Chavez-Wilcox, United Way of Orange County
J. Robert Fluor II, Fluor Daniel
Michael K. Garcia, Fidelity Investments
Paul Glaab, Transportation Corridor Agencies
Charles Haggerty, Western Digital
Michael Hayde, Western National Properties
Janet Huston, Orange County Division of League of California Cities
George Kessinger, Goodwill Industries of Orange County Robert Magnuson, Los Angeles Times
Lisa Mills, Orange County Transportation Authority
Jan Mittermeier, County of Orange
Stan Oftelie, Orange County Business Council
Bill Ross, Disneyland
Dave Ross, Experian
Michael Ruane, County of Orange
Henry Segerstrom, C. J. Segerstrom and Sons
William Steiner, Orange County Board of Supervisors
Thomas C. Sutton, Pacific Mutual
Peer Swan, Irvine Ranch Water District
Larry Tenney, Nelson Communications
Larry Thomas, The Irvine Company
Kathryn G. Thompson, Kathryn G. Thompson Company
Bill Wood, PacifiCare Health Systems

1997 Advisory Committee

Paul Freeman, C.J. Segerstrom and Sons Michael Fried, Orange County Register
Mary MacIntyre, Fieldstone Company
Michelle Myszka, Pacific Mutual
Robin Leftwich, Orange County Transportation Authority
Lisa Pitney, Disneyland
Tom Mathews, County of Orange
Jeff Rocke, United Way of Orange County
Lisa Telles, Transportation Corridor Agencies
Christopher Townsend, Taco Bell
Martha Zajic, Sprint PCS