SEATTLE – Today, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce released the latest findings from The Index, which shows optimism among Seattle voters stalled in recent months as concerns on public safety and illegal public drug use increased.

For 88% of voters surveyed, the city addressing violent crime and gun violence would have the most significant impact on improving quality of life in Seattle.

“Voters want to see progress, not continued debate,” said Rachel Smith, president and CEO of the Seattle Metro Chamber. “We’ve known for some time that voters are concerned about public safety and public drug use – especially meth and fentanyl – and those concerns have become a sticking point to voters continuing to feel optimistic. While we saw quality of life numbers increasing as recently as March, these results show that positive progress is fragile, a point candidates for Seattle City Council should note.”

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 a 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%).

“While the new drug ordinance is an important step, we need continued, urgent action to help those suffering from addiction, to curb the impacts of the fentanyl crisis on residents and businesses, and to improve public safety by taking an all-of-the-above approach that is equal to the scale of the problem,” Smith said.

“After more than a year of increasing confidence, concern about public safety and illegal drug use is now undermining voter optimism about the direction of our city,” said Andrew Thibault, senior principal at EMC Research. “The story voters are telling us on taxes, spending, and trust hasn’t changed, while concerns about public safety and illegal drug use have spiked and are now at an all-time high for The Index. Rebuilding trust and regaining positive momentum will require sustained visible progress on public safety.”

Polling was conducted by EMC Research, which interviewed 700 Seattle voters across each council district from Sept. 14-24. In-depth data and crosstabs can be found at www.seattlechamber.com/theindex.

About the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce

The Seattle Metropolitan (Seattle Metro) Chamber of Commerce is the regional business advocacy organization that engages the innovation and entrepreneurship of its 2,500 members to promote inclusive economic prosperity. Founded in 1882 by local business leaders, the Chamber today is an independent organization representing a regional workforce of approximately 750,000. For more information, visit www.seattlechamber.com.