This is interesting. In coordination with the Next10 Budget Challenge, Asm. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) has released some data on how her constituents (PDF) feel about the current budget crisis. Somewhat unsurprisingly, considering this is Berkeley, they think the Governor’s budget proposal is way off track.  Some items of note:

• 78% support balancing with a mix of cuts and revenues
• 55% support increasing education funding, while only 19% support cutting K12 funding.
• 94% support an oil severance tax, such as the one that funded my higher education at the University of Texas
• 80%+ support increasing revenues on tobacco, alcohol, gasoline, and the highest earners.
• Over 70% support changing Prop 13 to “split the rolls” between commercial and residential property.

Now, the Budget Challenge is far from a perfect barometer. In some places it doesn’t let you select from all of the options, and in others it misses some of the revenue options. However, this survey seemed to cover a pretty broad spectrum of options. Skinner is herself a product of the grassroots, and those connections are obvious when you speak to her for a few moments.She knows what her constituents are thinking, and her stated opinions line up fairly well.  Now, getting those opinions into action will prove challenging over the next few years.