Metro's online opinion panel reached a significant milestone Wednesday, with more than 5,000 people now signed up for Opt In.
The panel, organized by Metro and managed by polling firm DHM Research, was launched last winter as part of an effort to better gauge opinions of the Metro region's residents without having to conduct expensive telephone surveys. Panelists have received six surveys since Opt In's launch.
“This milestone is a big step. The more participants we can enroll, the better sense we have from our region’s residents about how to make this region a great place," said Dan Cooper, Metro's acting chief operating officer.
Metro still has work to do to get Opt In to its objectives. Multnomah County residents and Democrats are over-represented in the panel; conservatives, suburban residents, minorities and residents who didn't go to college are under-represented on the panel.
“While we’re making progress on increasing diversity among our participants, we’re committed to creating an online panel that better reflects the community we serve," Cooper said. "We have communications staff and Diversity Action Team members actively building community relationships so we can reach that goal. We can’t listen to just the usual suspects.”
Patty Unfred, Metro's Opt In manager, echoed the need for a more diverse group of participants.
"We can’t thrive as a community when the conversation about jobs, roads, bridges, parks and other important public structures is dominated by the voices of a few," she said. "We are excited to break the 5,000 mark with the Opt In panel but we have a ways to go to ensure the members of Opt In reflect our region as a whole."
Opt In recently conducted a survey on Metro's coming urban growth boundary management decision. Results from that survey are expected this week.