With elections for Mayor and two at-large City Council seats on the ballot next year, 54% of poll respondents said that Seattle is “seriously off on the wrong track” and almost half named homelessness as Seattle’s most pressing issue.
The poll was conducted in October by EMC Research, which completed interviews with 900 likely Seattle voters. Two issues tied for the second most important: the availability of affordable housing and policing issues.
The City Council’s approval rating fell from 49% at the start of summer to 37% when the poll was conducted. Majorities of men and women, younger and older voters and whites and people of color viewed the Council negatively. Almost 60% of voters do not trust the Council to keep Seattle safe while it seeks to cut the Seattle Police Department budget. White voters and voters of color expressed this concern in virtually equal numbers.
