Survey targeting Fresno District 7 candidate's age, faith draws criticism

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- With less than 50 days until voters hit the polls to cast their ballots in the midterm elections, candidates in Fresno's City Council District 7 race are contending with a controversial questionnaire.

"I have thick skin. There's not a lot that people can say about me that would bother me," said Fresno City Council District 7 Candidate Nav Gurm.

That toughness was tested about two weeks ago when voters in District 7 received a problematic SurveyMonkey poll. The link now shows a closed survey.

At the center of that poll was District 7 candidate Nav Gurm, a 26-year-old attorney and Fresno native who is also a practicing Sikh.

Voters were asked to weigh in on questions ranging from Gurm's age to his Sikh faith and ethnicity.

"There was a lot of stuff that was off-limits in politics historically, and that's dramatically changing," said Gurm.

The controversial questionnaire listed 18 questions, including one that directly targeted Gurm's turban and asked voters if a candidate's religious background or traditional cultural attire, such as a turban, affected their willingness to vote for that candidate.

"My religious attire has never been raised as a concern. I'm proud of my Sikh faith, proud to be a Sikh American," said Gurm.

"It doesn't matter who the attack is against, for me I stand against it; I stand against any kind of racist acts towards anybody include my opponent," said Gurm's District 7 race opponent, candidate Ariana Martinez Lott.

According to Gurm, Political Opinion Research conducted the survey; it describes itself on its website as a phone-based data-gathering and analysis firm based in Michigan.

During research for this report, Action News found inconsistencies on the site's home page, including font changes and spelling errors.

Action News asked Gurm about speculation that he could be behind the survey in an effort to gain more political attention.

"One, every dollar I spend on behalf of my campaign is publicly disclosed. We haven't spent any money on research," said Gurm. "We try to put that back towards voter contact, and you know, I think, fair question but absolutely not. I'm well above that."

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