Seattle Chamber Releases "The Index"

On Tuesday, October 10, the Seattle Chamber Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce released the latest findings from “The Index”, it bi-annual survey that gauges public sentiment on the quality of life in Seattle. The poll is instrumental in city council campaign efforts and points to residents’ desire to see a change in council makeup to achieve change.

The latest Index gives us deeper insight into Seattle voters’ concerns around drug use, crime and public safety, demonstrating broad agreement on the policies voters want to see:

• Public safety as concern is 20 points higher than when we started The Index in August of 2021 and is now in a statistical dead heat with homelessness as voters’ top concern. A majority (60%) of Seattle voters continue to say they feel less safe in their neighborhoods.
• Respondents overwhelmingly agree Seattle’s hands-off approach to people using fentanyl and meth in public has contributed to rampant street crime and hampered downtown’s recovery (81%).
• Two-thirds of voters disagreed with a statement that Seattle should not enforce laws against public use of illegal drugs until addressing the underlying issues driving addiction.
• Nearly three-quarters (74%) of voters agree that the city needs to make hiring more police officers an immediate priority.
• Concerns about racially biased policing increased 5 points since March, and 67% of voters believe addressing racially biased policing will improve quality of life.
• Three-quarters of voters don’t trust that the Seattle City Council can reform policing without compromising public safety.
• Voters continue to lack trust in the city’s ability to have an effective plan to address critical issues (84%) or to spend their tax dollars responsibly (68%).

WMFHA and others believe this index supports what we and the business community has felt for awhile; the citizens want a change. A change from ideologically driven politics to a pragmatic, results-driven approach. If you agree and live in the Seattle area, we encourage you to vote for the WMFHA endorsed candidates.