Founder Of Field Poll Dies

 Mervin Field died Monday in Marin County. He was 94. 

Field launched the Field Poll in 1947. Since then it has published more than 2,500 reports on both politicians and policy issues. Field had no formal training as a political scientist or statistician. But when he retired in 2000 his company employed more than 40 people with hundreds more serving as part-time interviewers.

The non-partisan Field poll has been ranked as one of the most accurate pre-election polls in the country. It receives funding from newspapers, television stations, the University of California and the California State University system, as well as non-profit foundations.