Crime and drugs are Seattle voters' top concerns, new survey finds

Voters in Seattle say that crime, drugs, and public safety are the issues they are most frustrated and concerned about. That’s according to a new survey sponsored by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

The "quality of life" poll, conducted by EMC research, found 41% of voters said public safety, including the issues of crime and drugs, was the city’s biggest problem.

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Homelessness came in second, with 37% of participants ranking it as their top concern. EMC researcher Andrew Thibault said it used to be voters' top issue, but those numbers have dropped 13 percentage points.

"That is a remarkable shift for what seemed for years and years and years to be an intractable issue impossible to make progress on — really difficult to change public perceptions," Thibault said.

Affordability and the cost of living was ranked the third most pressing issue facing Seattle, garnering 28% of participants No. 1 vote.

The poll also found the majority of voters think taxes in the city are currently too high. Only 31% think taxes should be raised to close the city’s looming $250 million deficit.

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Of those surveyed, 52% said they agreed that Seattle had "pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track;" the same percentage said they thought the quality of life in Seattle was getting worse. However, 61% agreed that they were "optimistic about the future of this region."

Overall, the poll suggests that Seattleites are more optimistic about the city than they were in the fall of 2021.

Researchers contacted the approximately 700 participants in the poll in early September.