Poll calls anger Walpole officials

Unhappy selectmen will fire off a letter to Competitive Power Ventures over a weekend poll that at least one member says implied the board supports a power plant proposed for South Walpole.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton said his office received several phone calls from residents who were confused by some of the questions asked during the poll. Some were unclear whether the town was conducting the poll, Boynton said.
Competitive Power Ventures yesterday confirmed it authorized the poll, which was conducted by Opinion Dynamics Corp., headquartered in Waltham. A spokesman said the polling is for internal use.
At last night's meeting, selectmen made it clear they do not support what they described as ``suggestive polling'' techniques.
Selectman David Sullivan, who received a call from a pollster, said the polling seemed to imply that selectmen might support the power plant proposal. The board is on record as opposing the plant and has asked legislators to help in the fight to keep it out of Walpole.
Selectmen last night voted to send letters to Competitive Power Ventures and to Opinion Dynamics Corp. The letters will request that Opinion Dynamics not misrepresent either the views of the selectmen or the town, said board Chairman Al DeNapoli.
In addition, the letter to Competitive Power will inform the company of the town's lack of support for what DeNapoli termed ``suggestive polling'' tactics.
During last night's meeting, DeNapoli asked Boynton if, to his understanding, the calls represented ``typical push polling.''
``I think so,'' Boynton said.
Push polling is an attempt to influence respondents' opinions on issues in the guise of a legitimate poll. In political campaigns, push polls are considered dirty tricks.
DeNapoli stressed he had not received such a call himself. He said the letters were unwritten, and the board's intention is not to accuse anyone who was not involved in the polling.
The poll offered several hypothetical scenarios for the resident to consider, including one in which the town supported the power plant, and another in which the town received a new senior center from power plant funds, said Sullivan, who received a call.
Sullivan called it ``very long'' and ``very deceiving.''
On its Web site, Opinion Dynamics Corp. says, ``Since our founding in 1987, ODC has provided research for countless organizations looking to understand and change public opinion on a variety of issues.''
``Opinion research is a routine component of the siting process,'' Competitive Power said in a statement. It is not known what the sample size was.
In the poll, residents were asked whether they were ``strongly in favor,'' ``in favor,'' ``neutral,'' ``opposed'' or ``strongly opposed'' to the power plant proposal.
Pollsters then presented information supporting the plant. After residents received that information, they were asked again if they were more likely to be in favor or opposed to the proposal. The pollsters went through the same process with regard to information from opponents.
The pollsters also asked residents about the credibility of various sources of information such as Walpole selectmen, state representatives, a Competitive Power spokesman, Daily News Transcript staff, an MIT professor and a local doctor.
The interview concluded with the pollsters asking residents if they would like information sent to their homes about the power plant proposal.