Last Friday, the Politico California Climate Newsletter featured an interview with California State Senator Jerry McNerney.
Citing their own polling data done in conjunction with the UC Berkeley Citrin Center, Politico found that, “a majority of registered voters in California […] said they believe the tunnel is more likely to come to fruition than the state’s other major infrastructure endeavor, its high speed rail project.” However, this data primarily reflects voters’ lack of confidence in high speed rail rather than an indication of actual support for the Delta Tunnel.
Restore the Delta knows from our polling conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research that a solid majority of California registered voters oppose the Delta Tunnel with 58% of voters in opposition – 24 points higher than the 34% who favor building it.
Of note, Sen. McNerney speaks to the marginal benefits of a boondoggle project like the Delta Conveyance Project will return, if any. As we’ve seen in our polling, voters far prefer developing local water supplies to building the tunnel.
Sen. McNerney’s comments echo what Restore the Delta has been and will continue to do – to “raise the voices of the people in the Delta in whose backyard this is going to take place” while also advocating for “rational, thoughtful and scientific use of water to supply all our needs.”
To read more about the interview with Sen. McNerney, click here. You can see a summary of Restore the Delta’s polling here.