Economic Development Top Priority 32nd District Democrats Poll Finds

The 32nd District Democrats conducted a land-line telephone poll of mostly older, female Shoreline voters Sept. 22 and economic development and the construction of more sidewalks were two the top issues.

Nearly 25 percent of Shoreline residents polled said that economic development is the most important issue that the City should address, according to Carin Chase of the 32nd District Democrats. Another 21 percent said that pedestrian safety and sidewalks is the most important issue.

According to the poll, the planned development at Point Wells is a concern for voters throughout the City with 38 percent of the respondents said that the City should negotiate to limit the impacts of the development, while 28 percent said that the City should litigate. The Town of Woodway and Save Richmond Beach are currently suing the Point Wells developer. The 32nd District Democrats passed a resolution at its September meeting opposing urban center development at Point Wells.

 “This has become a much broader issue than anyone anticipated as Snohomish County continues to try and force an illegal Urban Center on our community,” says Caycee Holt, Director of Save Richmond Beach. “The City of Shoreline is absolutely doing the right thing by trying to negotiate, but also preparing for potential litigation in the worst-case-scenario that the developer refuses reasonable alternatives.”

In the races for City Council, most voters in each of the three positions are still undecided about which candidate to support.

“The number of undecided voters at this point is expected,” said Heather Fralick, a political science professor at Cascadia Community College. “Most voters will not start paying attention to the race until late October when they receive their voters guide and mail from the candidates.”

The 32nd District Democrats have endorsed Chris Eggen, Janet Way, and Jesse Salomon.

The telephone poll was conducted on Thursday, September 22, 2011. 269 registered voters completed the poll.  All results have a 5.9% margin of error.

The questions included the following:

Among the following list of 5 issues, which do you think is the most important issue that the City of Shoreline should address?

Economic Development – 24%

Environment and Tree Canopy – 10%

Pedestrian Safety and Sidewalks – 21%

Point Wells – 17%

Traffic Safety – 20%

Other – 8%

Do you believe the best approach toward the development at Point Wells is to negotiate an agreement on limiting the size of the proposed development or to pursue litigation against the developer?

Negotiate Agreement – 38%

Pursue Litigation – 28%

Unsure – 34%

Would you support a proposal to ban disposable shopping bags in the City of Shoreline?

Support - 48%

Oppose – 52%

Gender

Female – 60%

Male – 40%

Party

Democrat – 38%

Republican – 17%

Independent – 43%

Other Party – 2%

Age

Under 35 – 3%

35-45 – 9%

45-55 – 19%

55-65 – 19%

over 65 – 50%

The 32nd District Democrats meet the second Wednesday of every month at the Shoreline Masonic Center at 185th and Linden. In October, the District will discuss upcoming ballot initiatives. Information about the meeting, and the District’s endorsed candidates can be found at its website: www.32democrats.org.

For further information contact Carin Chase at carin.chase@32democrat.org, 425 775-0600