Last week we shared the latest installment of The Index, the Chamber’s public opinion research project.
We collect this information because quality of life underlies attracting and retaining employees – to move here or to stay here. It also impacts the decisions of business owners to stay or locate here.
This is our fourth time collecting and analyzing Index data and the needle continues to move in the right direction – pride in being a Seattleite, optimism about the future, quality of life – all these measures are improving! We also see a consistent picture of the actions voters want implemented on our major challenges. I see this as a helpful roadmap for our elected officials – as well as those running for office.
First, voters’ top concerns have remained the same:
- Homelessness remains the top issue for voters
- Public safety concerns are still number two
- Housing affordability concerns are seeing an uptick
And the solutions the voters want to see haven’t changed:
- On homelessness, it is closing encampments after outreach has been done to offer shelter and services
- On public safety, voters want to see more officers, and they want to see progress addressing property crime, gun violence, and organized retail theft
- And on housing, it is allowing for more housing, more types of housing, to be built in more neighborhoods
My second big takeaway is that a new picture has emerged – the economy is front and center for voters and it is anchored in downtown. We now have the data showing voters understand how interconnected downtown’s recovery, concerns about personal finances and overall economic uncertainty really are.
A resounding majority, 90% of voters, believe a thriving downtown Seattle is critical to our region’s economy. Eighty-two percent are concerned about downtown, and only 13% of voters are optimistic about the downtown economy.
With those two points, it then tracks that – given our current economic conditions – 64% of voters are concerned about their own personal finances, and 77% think making Seattle a good place to do business would improve quality of life. While we don’t have any underlying relationship data, from the chair I sit in, it makes sense that people are feeling concerned about the lower levels of economic activity they see, taxes they pay, headlines they read about interest rates, and more – and drawing a connection to downtown recovery, too.
But this is a solvable problem.
Voters are showing they are already part of the solution by walking the walk: for the first time, the percentage of voters visiting downtown the same or more than pre-pandemic has increased. Additionally, more people are saying they feel safe visiting downtown during the day.
And efforts like the Downtown Activation Plan, announced by Mayor Bruce Harrell in April, are the right approach: pairing a public safety action like the executive order addressing the fentanyl crisis with downtown activation initiatives like filling vacant storefronts. In our public statement we called it a “down payment” – any action to address the fentanyl crisis and revitalize downtown are most welcome, but more is needed.
Now is a good time to incentivize any and all activity – and our message to elected officials and new candidates for office is: bring on the ideas!
Government has its hands on many levers that can help:
- Changing zoning to allow for more uses in more buildings
- Reducing barriers to starting a business
- Streamlining regulation, reducing fees, and modifying the permitting process
And we ask that the City Council swiftly pass all legislation sent their way on these topics.
My last takeaway: the quality-of-life measure has gone from a low of 3.47 in March of 2022, to a high of 4.2 in March of 2023. It is going in the right direction! But until the encampments in neighborhoods are resolved, until voters can buy or rent a home in their budget, until voters trust that downtown Seattle is going to recover, and until voters see more officers on the street, we will only see modest gains.
The number that captures that most of all is the number on trust – over 8 in 10 voters do not trust that the City has an effective plan for our biggest issues.
Despite these concerns, the voters aren’t giving up – and neither are we, which speaks to the strength of our civic engagement and our optimism.
The Chamber will continue to collect this research going forward. And we will continue to use it to drive progress on key issues impacting quality of life: downtown recovery, public safety, homelessness and affordability.
With determination,
Rachel
Rachel Smith
President and CEO
