For Immediate Release
March 24, 2003

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY VOTERS REMAIN OPPOSED TO DOGWOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN

New poll reveals that an overwhelming 69 percent of county voters oppose Dogwood's development plan for Chancellorsville Battlefield

(Chancellorsville, Va.) - A new public opinion poll commissioned by the Coalition to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield reveals that Spotsylvania County voters remain opposed to the Dogwood Development Group's plans to build an artificial city on the Mullins Farm. According to the poll, 69 percent of those surveyed indicated they oppose the project.

"This survey confirms what the Coalition already suspected," remarked Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) spokesperson Jim Campi. "Despite the disinformation campaign conducted by Dogwood and its surrogates, Spotsylvania voters remain adamantly opposed to Dogwood's plan to develop the Mullins Farm."

The survey began by asking county voters their opinion of Dogwood's proposal to build a 2,000-house development on the 790-acre Mullins Farm. An overwhelming 69 percent of those surveyed indicated they oppose the project. Only 23 percent stated that they support the proposal.

The numbers are nearly identical to the results of a similar survey commissioned by the Coalition in August of last year. At the time, 66 percent of county voters opposed the project while just 19 percent supported the Dogwood plan. "The results show that county voters decided long ago that Dogwood's project is bad for Spotsylvania," Campi noted.

County voters were also questioned about the rate of growth in Spotsylvania County. 61 percent indicated that growth was occurring "much too fast" while another 20 percent said growth was "a little too fast." Only 17 percent stated that it was "about right" or "too slow." These numbers are similar to the results from the August survey.

"This latest poll demonstrates that the fight to stop Dogwood is led by local people. From the beginning, the Coalition's agenda has been set by Spotsylvania County residents," said Rob Nieweg, spokesperson for the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP).

In contrast to the August survey, county voters were also asked about the impact the Dogwood project would have on their voting patterns. 61 percent of respondents indicated they would be less likely to vote for a supervisor who supported the Dogwood proposal. 64 percent said they favor supervisors who support measures to manage growth and sprawl in Spotsylvania County.

"The numbers speak for themselves," stated Caroline R. Hayden, spokesperson for the Spotsylvania Preservation Foundation, Inc. "County voters don't want Spotsylvania to become another congested suburb of Washington, D.C."

The latest Coalition survey comes in the wake of a dubious poll conducted by Dogwood and its allies in early March. Rather than using legitimate polling methods, Dogwood resorted to push polling techniques designed to influence people - not gauge their true opinions. As a result, Dogwood's survey was fundamentally flawed.

The Coalition's poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Research, Inc. from March 20-21, 2003. A total of 405 registered voters were interviewed countywide by telephone. For verification or questions concerning methodology, contact Brad Coker at (410) 995-0929. Margin of error is +/- 5 percentage points.

The Coalition to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield is an informal group of 12 national and local preservation, conservation and civic groups representing more than 600,000 members nationwide. The coalition is dedicated to preserving and protecting Chancellorsville battlefield. Its website is located at www.chancellorsville.org.

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Contact: Jim Campi of the Civil War Preservation Trust at 202-367-1861 or Beth Newburger of the National Trust for Historic Preservation at 202-588-6141.

Results: Poll results are available here.