NOLA on the ‘wrong track’ in new poll

New Orleans (WGNO) — A poll of 520 likely New Orleans voters, released Sept. 2, shows 66% of New Orleans residents believe the city is headed in the wrong direction.

The “Environmental Resiliency Survey” was conducted between Aug. 5 and Aug. 11 by Silas Lee & Associates, led by local political analyst Silas Lee.

According to a synopsis of the survey, Lee stressed that frequent power outages, flooding and potholes are concerns that should be “elevated to a priority issue” for the Mayor and City Councilmembers who will be chosen in the upcoming election in October.

Lee says seven out of ten people are stressed due to the climate of the city. With over 80% stating, they want elected officials to pay more attention to infrastructure issues.

“Environmental infrastructure, the drainage, electricity, sanitation and the condition of the streets, those are issues that people have to negotiate and navigate on a daily basis,” said Lee.

Valerie Bergman told WGNO that, to her, fixing things that have been left abandoned since Hurricane Katrina is the norm for the city.  She knows city officials could do better.

“Make sure that our, you know, our drainage works. You know that every time it rains, even just a little rain or a downpour, with streets flood. We have all year, every year, to fix this. Sewage and water boards as well. You know, this amount of our pumps is working; it should be 100% of our pumps working. We depend on that. Our city depends on it,” said Bergman.

Besides infrastructure complaints, the poll also found that 92% of respondents have been affected by power outages, with 38% reporting that they’ve experienced “a lot” of outages.

Others say many projects start one day and are never finished, leaving residents wondering what’s going on, hoping for updates.

“What will be the progress accomplished in a project? When will it be completed? Please inform. Inform residents about disruptions,” said Lee.

But it isn’t just infrastructure issues that local residents want to see addressed.

“New Orleans is mostly hospitality, but we need to bring new people in here. New businesses deserve people who want jobs,” said New Orleans resident Maurice Hughes.

With three strong competitors running to change how things are done in New Orleans, Lee says a runoff is likely.

 “Unless something drastically changes. But from all indications, as it stands right now, certainly we will see some shifts and movement in terms of voter support. We do envision a runoff,” said Lee.

Voters say they are keeping an eye on all the candidates’ forums to hear exactly what plans the candidates have for the future.

Only 22% responded yes when asked if the city was headed in the “right direction.

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