HOUSTON — A new report ahead of next month’s mayoral election reveals a virtually even split on how likely voters view the direction Houston is heading as a city while crime tops voters’ list of top policy priorities.
The findings come from the second report of a survey conducted by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston.
The first report looked primarily at the mayoral race and voters’ preferences among candidates vying to succeed outgoing Mayor Sylvester Turner. The top two vote-getters move on to the December runoff election.
Direction of the city
According to the survey, 51% of likely Houston voters said they believe things in Houston are heading in the wrong direction, while 49% believe things in the city are headed in the right direction. The survey, which took answers from 800 participants, has a margin of error is +/-3.5%.
“You do see some interesting splits, though, in terms of ethnicity and race and partisanship,” said Mark Jones, a professor at Rice University and senior research fellow at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. “Democrats and African Americans think things are going very well in the city of Houston. Whites and Republicans think it’s going pretty badly.”
Looking at those differences, 63% of white likely voters and 91% of Republicans believe things in Houston are heading in the wrong direction. On the flip side, 71% of likely Black voters and 77% of Democrats believe things in the city are going in the right direction.
Among Latino voters, 53% say things are going in the wrong direction, with 47% saying things are going in the right direction.
Policy issues and priorities
The report also looked at policy issues facing the city and the importance to the voters who participated in the survey.
Crime topped the list of the most important problems facing Houston today, according to the report.
“No issue comes closer to crime when we’re talking about the issue that most Houstonians think is the biggest problem that’s facing the city,” Jones told KHOU 11.
According to the survey, 46% of likely voters said it was the most important problem. The next two closest issues were economic inequality at 11% and rising property taxes at 10%.
Survey organizers said crime as a priority for voters is being reflected by the messaging from candidates.
“Crime is the major issue that all candidates have to address front and center because that is the one issue that all Houstonians with overwhelming majorities believe as a problem and want to see address,” Jones said in an interview.
The report also asked participants about their support levels for different policy proposals to address crime, including the hiring of 600 additional police officers. On top of that, it asked voters if they would support paying garbage collection fees in the future and different payment levels.
The mayoral election is Nov. 7.
The full report can be seen below: