The poll results also show that 60 percent of local residents support the military alignment and the related development associated with the buildup.
Approximately 24 percent polled indicated they could not decide one way or the other how they feel about the buildup.
Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares, the chairwoman of Para Hita Todu, said the poll validated what she “believed all along: Most Guamanians support the buildup.”
The poll was conducted by Market Research and Development Inc. from June 1 to 7 among 350 randomly selected residents on Guam.
The target population for the study included residents of Guam aged 18 and over, and living in traditional households like apartments, condominiums and single-family dwellings.
Of the 350 surveyed, 87 percent indicated they lived on Guam longer than 10 years or “all their lives.” Sixty-one percent of households were either group households (16 percent) or couples with children (45 percent).
The poll identified some of the reasons why local residents do not support the buildup. Among the 16 percent of those who oppose it, the three reasons most frequently mentioned were that the buildup will hurt the local culture, it will bring too many outsiders, and the benefits promised will not happen.
Among the 60 percent who favored the buildup, the three most frequent reasons for their support were that it would create jobs, improve the economy today and into the future, and generate tax revenues for the government.
Members of Para Hita told Variety that a group of Guam Chamber of Commerce representatives are in Washington D.C. to meet with Department of Defense officials, and hopefully congressional leaders, at which time they will present over 10,000 signatures and the polling results. Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo’s office helped set up the meetings, they said.
Congress is trying to reduce expenditures outside the military bases to save money, and issues like the lawsuit over Pågat give the impression that Guam doesn’t support the military’s plans, said Savares.
