Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s recognition is holding regular after 11 months in workplace, based on a brand new ballot launched Wednesday, however its findings recommend a gross sales tax enhance he’s pitching for the November poll might face some skepticism from voters.
Johnston stays assured in his tax proposal, unveiled Monday. It might generate an estimated $100 million a yr to develop on the town’s reasonably priced housing work, together with by preserving or constructing tens of 1000’s of items reasonably priced to individuals now getting priced out of the town. His personal inner polling suggests two-thirds of the town would assist the tax enhance, he stated.
However the June survey of 409 registered Denver voters for the nonprofit Colorado Polling Institute discovered {that a} stable majority — 64% — imagine the town’s taxes are already excessive. Amongst them, 35% stated the town’s taxes have been “means too excessive,” whereas 29% stated they have been “excessive however acceptable.”
Nonetheless, it’s been uncommon for Denver voters to show down tax will increase, and a pollster famous that loads of voters voiced average opinions on the query.
These responses have been collected earlier than Johnston introduced his proposed 0.5% reasonably priced housing gross sales tax. If the Metropolis Council offers its blessing within the weeks forward, that new tax would share the November poll with a brand new 0.34% gross sales tax being sought to shore up the funds of Denver Well being, the town’s security web hospital.
If each go, the town’s efficient gross sales tax price would enhance from 8.81% to 9.65%, making Denver stand out alongside the Entrance Vary.
The bipartisan ballot, carried out by Democratic polling group Side Strategic and Republican agency New Bridge Technique, was carried out through a mixture of on-line and cellphone interviews between June 13 and 18. It has a margin of error of 4.85 proportion factors.
In excellent news for the mayor, the ballot discovered 48% of voters seen him favorably. That’s nearly flat in comparison with the 46% who seen Johnston favorably in a Colorado Polling Institute ballot in August, simply his second month on the job.
However the share viewing Johnston unfavorably climbed considerably, from 22% in August to 38% in June, based on the outcomes.
That’s due partially to rising familiarity as Johnston has been within the information, together with as he’s spearheaded a brand new homeless technique and responded to the migrant disaster. Simply 11% of voters informed pollsters they’d no opinion or had by no means heard of the mayor in June, down from 32% in August.
His favorability rankings within the new ballot distinction with outcomes from a Magellan Methods survey of 1,595 Denver voters carried out in Could. That ballot discovered that 43% accepted of his efficiency — whereas totally 50% disapproved. The margin of error was 2.45 proportion factors.
The survey was carried out for the council’s central workplace primarily to gauge assist for a possible tightening of time period limits. Its contract with Magellan was valued at as much as $29,000, council spokesman Robert Austin stated. The ballot additionally discovered that the council’s approval score was underwater, with approval at 36% and disapproval at 49%.
No matter his personal assist ranges, Johnston is banking that voters will approve his tax request in November.
On the Colorado Polling Institute survey’s taxes query, Lori Weigel, of New Bridge Technique, seen the responses with some nuance. She famous that almost any voter is liable to say they pay an excessive amount of in taxes, which is why the ballot allowed respondents to grade the town’s tax burden by providing a number of choices: means too excessive, excessive however acceptable, about proper and decrease than what one would count on.
“After we take a look at the ‘excessive however acceptable’ or ‘about proper’ (responses), it’s a majority kind of gravitating in the direction of that center spectrum,” Weigel stated.
The Johnston administration has achieved its personal polling. In a gathering with Denver Submit journalists on Tuesday, the mayor stated his knowledge reveals 65% of metropolis voters would favor the “Reasonably priced Denver” gross sales tax enhance. That determine was regular no matter whether or not respondents owned or rented their properties, he stated.
“We have been actually shocked that you’ve got complete alignment between renters and householders, and also you even have — not surprisingly — huge assist from youthful voters for this challenge,” Johnston stated. “As we all know, in the event you can’t afford to dwell right here, then all the remainder of the opposite issues are secondary.”
Keep up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly e-newsletter, The Spot.