FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 24, 2006
CONTACT: Ryan Banfill (850) 222-1996

Polls show solid majority want Navy return to Cecil Field
WTLV-TV, Florida Times-Union and VoteJacksonville.com polls show Cecil Field referendum favored by a landslide 28 points.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A trio of recent polls show an overwhelming majority of Jacksonville voters favor a referendum to return Cecil Field to the U.S. Navy for reestablishment of a Master Jet Base.

• A poll released Oct. 20 by WTLV-TV, conducted by Survey USA, showed the referendum supported by 61 percent of Duval County voters, compared to 28 percent opposed.
• A separate poll by the Florida Times-Union, conducted by Research 2000, showed support for the referendum at 56 percent to 33 percent. Moreover, 63 percent to 24 percent believed the referendum vote by Duval County voters is the best way to decide the future use of Cecil Field.
• Finally, an internal poll of likely voters for VoteJacksonville.com, conducted by American Public Dialogue this month, showed the referendum leading 57 percent to 28 percent. Crosstabs of the poll showed that Westside residents support the referendum 55 percent to 30 percent.

"These polls show that Jacksonville is for the Navy, for a better economy, and for Cecil Field by an astonishing margin," said former Navy pilot Ken Underwood, co-founder of VoteJacksonville.com. "The results also show that developers and Navy opponents cannot claim to represent most Westside residents, because a solid majority of the Westside, by nearly a 2:1 margin, enthusiastically supports the Navy's return to Cecil Field."

Cecil Field was an active airbase and coexisted with the surrounding area from 1943 to 1999. Today, according to Federal Aviation Administration data, the base is still home to more than 60,000 military flight operations a year - an average of 170 a day.

According to a 2005 report commissioned by Enterprise Florida, the Navy's return to Cecil Field would bring more than 31,000 new jobs to North Florida and boost the region's economy by $2.6 billion a year.

Pd. Pol. Adv. paid for by VoteJacksonville.com, 14286 Beach Blvd Ste 19 #224, Jacksonville, FL 32250

Ryan Banfill
Senior Account Manager
Ron Sachs Communications
(850) 222-1996
(850) 224-2882 fax
james@ronsachs.com