(The Center Square) – More than half of Houston likely voters think the city is headed in the wrong direction, with 83% of voters believing crime should be a top priority for the new mayor.
The Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston conducted a representative survey of Houston likely voters to identify their preferences and opinions regarding the upcoming municipal election. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.5% and is representative of Houston residents who are likely to vote in the 2023 mayoral election.
Seventy-two percent of voters believe that flooding should be a top priority and 65% believe that road and street conditions should one too.
Latino and Black respondents were about twice as likely as white respondents to cite issues including crime, illegal dumping, and the lack of parks negatively impacting quality of life, according to the report.
Sixty-eight percent of Latinos and 61% of Black voters said violent crime is a negative factor, compared with 34% of white voters, according to a Aug. 1 news release.
Forty-six percent of Latinos and 45% of Black voters said the same about illegal dumping, while only 16% of white voters agreed.
There were few major generational splits, but millennials and Gen Z members were less likely to cite violent crime as a negative, at 29%, compared with 52% of Gen X and 49% of members of the baby boomer and silent generations, according to the news release.
Forty-four percent said affordable housing should be a priority for the next mayor, while 34% named trash collection and recycling. Blacks, 72%, are significantly more likely than whites, 36%, and Latinos, 35%, to list affordable housing as a top priority, according to the report.
This report was conducted in a series of two parts. The first report examined the mayoral and controller races in November. The second report focuses on policy issues facing Houston.
This article First appeared in the center square