Some state Democrats are questioning why Republican Gov. Mark Sanford's commission on government efficiency is using polls and focus groups to help measure how the state is doing its job.

Democrats say they want to see the questions that were asked to make sure the poll wasn't taken for political reasons.

But Ken Wingate, chairman of the Commission on Management, Accountability and Performance, said he won't release the questions or any other information about the poll until the final report is finished next month because he doesn't want to interfere with the group's work.

Polls and focus groups are often used by political campaigns and marketing firms to gauge opinion or test ideas. Democrats want to see whether the poll asked questions that might help Sanford politically.

Wingate said Democrats have nothing to worry about. "There were no extraneous political questions," he said.

Democrats also want to know how the commission will use the results, and they're concerned the group is testing public opinion of state government when it should be focusing on ways the state could save money.

"My understanding was this was an effort to find ways to streamline state government, not to find what the popular opinion was," said Rep. James Smith, D-Columbia, the House minority leader.

Sanford created the commission by executive order after a tough budget year in which the state made extensive cuts, slashing millions from education, among other services.

Hundreds of citizens and state officials from both parties are working with the commission. They're charged with finding ways the government can be more productive, efficient and less costly while emphasizing customer satisfaction.

Sanford, whose 2002 campaign slogan was "Leadership," has been praised by fellow Republicans for having a clear vision for the state and not governing according to opinion polls.

Wingate said Sanford had nothing to do with the decision to take the poll used by the commission.

Sanford's spokesman Chris Drummond said no one from the governor's office talked with commission members about the content of the questions asked for the poll.

Democrats said they will keep an open mind until they see the results and the questions.

Drummond said the list of questions would be available Sept. 9 when the results of the poll will be reported to a commission subcommittee.

Wingate said he authorized the poll to find out whether taxpayers think the state is doing a good job. He said it was done by the University of South Carolina Institute for Public Service and Policy Research.

The state paid between $4,000 and $5,000 for the poll, but most of the work was donated, Wingate said. The commission has almost no budget -- members aren't even reimbursed for mileage, he said.

Bob Oldendick, the USC professor who oversaw the poll, said the college usually charges between $37,000 and $250,000 to do a poll. He declined to answer any questions about the commission's poll.

The two focus groups queried were citizens and state employees. The focus group work was donated by a member of one of the commission's subcommittees who runs a market research firm.

Wingate said the poll was based on one done by the state of Pennsylvania, which asked general questions such as whether the state is headed in the right direction or how trustworthy state government is.

Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said a poll could be helpful as the commission looks for ways to improve state services. But if pollsters asked blatantly political questions -- such as what people think of Sanford or other potential candidates -- that would be inappropriate, he said.

He said he wants to know why Wingate won't make the questions public immediately. "Why would you not want to relay the questions now unless you were trying to formulate a defense to them?" he asked.

Wingate said he will reveal the questions eventually. "Once we get to a place where we issue the report, all the work product will be published," he said.

Smith, the minority leader, said he's already looking into what the commission hoped to get from the poll and focus groups.

"Hopefully the money was well-spent and something we can benefit from," he said.