CQ Voting Studies are an annual analysis of a member's support or opposition to a given position. Interest Group Ratings are based on rankings from groups chosen to represent liberal, conservative, business and labor viewpoints.Voting Participation scores are based on the number of times a member voted "yea" or "nay" on roll call votes (not including quorum calls in the House). CQ Vote Studies Year Presidential Support Party Unity   S* O* S O 1998 84% 15% 95% 5% 1997 80 19 96 2 1996 84 16 98 2 1995 86 11 97 2 1994 77 23 98 1 1993 78 20 96 2 S=Support; O=Oppose
Voting Participation Year % 1998 99 1997 96 1996 99 1995 99 1994 99 1993 98	Interest Groups Year ADA AFL-CIO CCUS ACU 1998 100% n/a 28% 8 % 1997 100 100 30 0 1996 95 100 19 0 1995 100 100 17 4 1994 100 100 25 0 1993 100 100 9 4
Note on Interest Groups: ADA=Americans for Democratic Action; AFL-CIO=American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations; CCUS=Chamber of Commerce of the United States; ACU=American Conservative Union

CALIFORNIA 6 : Northern Bay Area; Sonoma and Marin counties

Drive north across the Golden Gate Bridge and the scenery changes from the cityscape of San Francisco to the Pacific coastline and inland hills of the 6th. This area north of the city is home to upper middle-class suburbs that seem a long way from the city, although the area has grown significantly since the bridge opened in 1937.

The 6th includes all of Marin County and most of Sonoma County. Marin is home to San Quentin prison, the suburbs of Kentfield, Ross, San Anselmo and San Rafael, the largest city in the county. Some of the county's popular getaway spots include Point Reyes National Seashore, Stinson Beach and Mount Tamalpais.

To the north, Sonoma County is home to a California State U. campus and Santa Rosa, the largest city in the district. Wine and dairy ranching dominate the economy here, although high-tech companies have begun making inroads. Petaluma, with Victorian architecture left untouched by the 1906 earthquake, is near the Sonoma-Marin county line.

The 6th's affluent residents think of themselves as progressive and tolerant of diverse views. After flirting with Republicanism in the late 1970s and early '80s, the 6th turned solidly Democratic.

Major Industry
Telecommunications, agriculture, tourism

Population
571,360 (1990)

Cities
Santa Rosa (pt.), 109,826 (1990); Petaluma, 48,569; San Rafael, 48,404; Novato, 47,585 (1998)

People
69% urban; 13% age 65+ (ranks sixth of 52 in state; middle third nationally); 53% married couples, 23% married couples with children; 33% college educated (ranks 11 of 52 in state; top third nationally); 67% white collar (ranks 15 of 52 in state; top third nationally), 19% blue collar (ranks 38 of 52 in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)

Race
90% white, 2% black, 3% Asian; 9% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$40,564 (ranks 18 of 52 in state; top third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
San Rafael home to film producer and director George Lucas' companies, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Skywalker Sound; Sen. Barbara Boxer represented the 6th from 1983-93.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company