January 13, 2004
RALEIGH — Voters in Raleigh and Wake County are overwhelmingly in favor of holding a referendum on a proposal from city and county officials to build a new convention center in downtown Raleigh, according to a public opinion poll released Wednesday by the Center for Local Innovation. CLI, a special project of the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation, commissioned the survey of 400 recent Wake County voters, which found that 86 percent favored a public vote on the convention-center project, with 11 percent against a public vote and 3 percent not sure. By almost as large a majority — 75 percent to 18 percent — Wake voters said they opposed giving a proposed $23 million subsidy to a new for-profit hotel downtown to make the convention center viable.
On whether to build the convention center itself, the poll respondents were more closely split when asked an initial question: 45 percent opposed the project, 34 percent favored it, and fully 20 percent were undecided. But when told that the project’s proponents expected to spend $743 million over the next 30 years to build, market, and operate the facility, a majority (55 percent) said it would not be a “good investment of tax dollars,” with only 29 percent saying it would be and 16 percent undecided.
There were no significant differences in opinion between those respondents residing within the city of Raleigh and those residing in the rest of Wake County. Self-identified conservatives were more likely to say the convention center would not be a good public investment (63 percent, vs. 22 percent saying it would be) than were self-identified moderates (45 percent vs. 34 percent) or liberals (47 percent vs. 39 percent). But in all three cases, at least a plurality of respondents expressed a skeptical view when told of the project’s long-term costs.
Interestingly, there was roughly the same level of public support for a referendum among supporters of the convention center (84 percent), opponents (89 percent), and undecided voters (85 percent).
“The message from Wake County voters in this poll is clear: they believe this project should be submitted to a public vote,” said Chad Adams, the new director of CLI. “Given that the initial question on the convention center revealed a sizable number of undecided voters, and even supporters of the project favor a referendum, there would seem to be both a responsibility and an opportunity for proponents of the convention center to take their case to the people.”
On a related matter, most respondents (56 percent) said they opposed spending up to $10 million to rip up Fayetteville Street Mall in downtown Raleigh and replace it with a drivable street. About 31 percent said they favored the idea, with 12 percent not sure.
For more information about this survey or other programs and services of JLF’s Center for Local Innovation, please call Chad Adams at 828-3876.