MLive has never commissioned a poll. Sure, we've reported on other media outlets’ polls, and we've reacted to those other polls. But in the 12 years since we brought eight local newspapers and the MLive.com website under one umbrella, we have never paid to have a poll conducted. If you've been reading MLive.com this week, you may have noticed that changed in a big way: “What do Ottawa County residents really think? We decided to ask them” and “Far-right group called it ‘Marxist ideology,’ but voters prefer ‘Where you belong’ motto” are just two of more than a dozen stories we’re publishing from a poll done by the Glengariff Group, commissioned by MLive. Good polling isn’t cheap. Since I'm the guy making sure the bill is paid, I wanted to tell you why I gave the OK to work with Lansing-based Glengariff on what Ottawa County voters really think. For more than a year, Michigan’s fastest-growing county has been deeply divided by political changes instigated by an ultra-conservative group that swept into power under the banner of Ottawa Impact. Citizens have packed county government meetings, millions of dollars of taxpayer money have been spent on legal fees and settlements, and another group – Ottawa Integrity – formed to provide opposition. Conflict is everywhere, from protests and shouting to accusations and lawsuits. What is noise, and what is substance? What do most citizens really think about what is happening politically in their home county? “The people who are willing to sit through and speak at a 6-hour public meeting are the most dedicated, on both extremes,” said Audra Gamble, lead reporter for The Grand Rapids Press. “The average county resident has to get dinner on the table, get their kid to soccer, they just don’t have the time. We wanted to get a sense of what those folks, who we’re not hearing from, think.” That’s one great reason why I OK’d the editors’ request for an in-depth scientific poll. Here are others: We’ve provided thorough reporting over the past year-plus of the Ottawa County political drama, but even that couldn't give us a sense of what likely voters are thinking. So we polled 600 registered voters from all demographics with 39 questions, two of them open-ended so they could amplify sentiments they feel strongest about. The polling firm has a great reputation and delivered results with a 95 percent confidence rate. Glengariff drew a proportional number of responses from every township and every city in Ottawa County to reflect population trends. “We want to make it look like what a presidential-year turnout would look like in Ottawa County,” company founder Richard Czuba said. “We felt like we were hitting the demographics quite close to what the county looks like.” It's an election year and West Michigan is key to knowing how the state will vote. This gives us an inkling of how folks are feeling and serves as a directional guide for important journalism we plan to do all year long, in Ottawa County and across Michigan.We've never done it before. Why not try it? It ended up being a great learning process for our staff, and it’s yielding rich insights that we could not have uncovered otherwise.The last reason, and maybe the biggest, was the passion of our reporters and editors in Grand Rapids who have been covering this story. They made a pitch that was just too good to refuse. “I’m so grateful we were able to make this investment into the Ottawa County community and give them a better sense of where things stand,” Gamble said. “I think the information this poll provides both to us and to residents is invaluable.”
To see all poll stories, click here. To read all Ottawa County political coverage, click here.
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