Washington Post Marion Barry Poll, May 1996

This special topic poll sought respondents' views regarding the city of Washington, DC, and its mayor, Marion Barry. Residents of the district were asked to rate the mayor's job performance in the following areas: improving the image of the Mayor's office, improving city services, improving the national image of the city, eliminating waste from city government, and reducing corruption in city government. Those queried were asked for their opinions of Mayor Barry, his wife Cora Masters Barry, and city officials including Rock Newman, Andrew Brimmer, and David Clarke. A series of questions addressed Mayor Barry's recent two-week retreat, his stated reasons for taking the break, whether further explanation was desired by the constituency, and whether Mayor Barry was physically and emotionally fit to govern. Respondents were also asked for their views on the amount of influence that Cora Masters Barry had on city politics, whether Mayor Barry should run again for office in the 1998 election, and whether the city would be better or worse without Mayor Barry in office. Background variables include age, race, sex, education, political party, religion, employment status, voter registration and participation history, family income, area of residence, and whether members of the household were employed as city or federal government workers.