2008 Woodie Awards
The Daily OrangeExit polling
By Ed Jacovino
Posted: 8/27/08, 12:06 AM EST Section: News
After 24 years of polling for local candidates on campus, Syracuse University political professor Jeffrey Stonecash will no longer be able to rent university property for his personal polling operation.
Stonecash, best known as the pollster for Republican Rep. Jim Walsh, was asked in June to stop renting out SU phone banks to conduct the polls. Stonecash and the university reached the agreement after an apparent complaint from the campaign of Democratic congressional candidate Dan Maffei, Stonecash said.
Stonecash, a registered Democrat, teaches a campaign analysis course that includes a unit on polling and had students create, conduct and analyze a mock poll. But students likely won't be polling this semester, he said. A section on polling remains on the class syllabus, though.
As a pollster, local candidates hired the professor on their side. He rented out a university phone bank and advertised the work to students, who he paid $12.50 per hour.
"All costs are reimbursed," Stonecash said. "There's no contribution by the university, except for the use of the phones, which is by no means trivial."
He added there is no conflict of interest in hiring students taking his course.
"This is a work relationship," he said. "I've always made it clear to them there is no break for that."
Stonecash would not say whether he will find another phone bank and continue his polling business. He has taught at SU for 31 years and has been polling for the last 24 years.
But after a surprising result in a poll he conducted in April for Republican congressional candidate Dale Sweetland, his Democratic opponent's campaign made an informal complaint to the university.
A spokesman for the Maffei campaign said he raised concern about Stonecash "using university resources for private gain" and using the "good name of the university to promote a partisan operation," according to The Post-Standard. The Maffei campaign did not return a request to comment.
Stonecash, best known as the pollster for Republican Rep. Jim Walsh, was asked in June to stop renting out SU phone banks to conduct the polls. Stonecash and the university reached the agreement after an apparent complaint from the campaign of Democratic congressional candidate Dan Maffei, Stonecash said.
Stonecash, a registered Democrat, teaches a campaign analysis course that includes a unit on polling and had students create, conduct and analyze a mock poll. But students likely won't be polling this semester, he said. A section on polling remains on the class syllabus, though.
As a pollster, local candidates hired the professor on their side. He rented out a university phone bank and advertised the work to students, who he paid $12.50 per hour.
"All costs are reimbursed," Stonecash said. "There's no contribution by the university, except for the use of the phones, which is by no means trivial."
He added there is no conflict of interest in hiring students taking his course.
"This is a work relationship," he said. "I've always made it clear to them there is no break for that."
Stonecash would not say whether he will find another phone bank and continue his polling business. He has taught at SU for 31 years and has been polling for the last 24 years.
But after a surprising result in a poll he conducted in April for Republican congressional candidate Dale Sweetland, his Democratic opponent's campaign made an informal complaint to the university.
A spokesman for the Maffei campaign said he raised concern about Stonecash "using university resources for private gain" and using the "good name of the university to promote a partisan operation," according to The Post-Standard. The Maffei campaign did not return a request to comment.
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