Voters identify homelessness, housing affordability as top issues for city to address; more than 6-in-10 feel ‘safe’ and support ‘sweeps’ or ‘cleanups’ of homeless encampments

DENVER — Voters are divided on whether the Mile High City is on the right track or headed in the wrong direction and identify homelessness and housing affordability as the top two issues for the city government to address, according to a Colorado Polling Institute survey of likely 2024 voters released today.

Among the notable findings:

• More than two-thirds (68%) of respondents say they feel safe in Denver;
• there is strong support (65%) for city “cleanups” or “sweeps” of homeless encampments that pose a health and safety risk;
  newly elected Mayor Mike Johnston’s homeless plans are well-received (34% approve vs. 20% disapprove), but a plurality (41%) haven’t formed opinions;
• the cost of housing places “some” or “significant” financial strain on two-thirds (65%) of respondents, including nearly 9-in-10 (88%) of renters and;
• voters are generally pessimistic (45%) rather than optimistic (30%) about the progress being made on downtown Denver’s recovery;

“It is noteworthy that voters’ top concerns revolve around the city’s housing challenges. The mayor made homelessness a central issue in his campaign, and voters clearly support that priority,” said Democratic pollster Kevin Ingham of Aspect Strategic. “Yet, many are feeling burdened by their own housing costs and these results indicate they want the city to approach the housing issue with a wide angle lens.”

The poll of 414 likely 2024 Denver general election voters was conducted for the Colorado Polling Institute Aug. 17-18 by the bipartisan polling team of Cygnal and Aspect Strategic via a multi-mode mix of live calls and text-to-web responses. It has a margin of error of ± 4.72%.

The poll found voters divided on the direction of the city, with 44% saying it’s headed in the right direction and 44% saying it’s on the wrong track.

Addressing homelessness is a clear priority for most voters. In fact, it is the top priority across most groups, with the exception of those aged 18-29, who prioritize housing affordability and the cost of living.

“As we saw in polling during the mayoral election earlier this year, Denverites are strongly in favor of forcefully addressing the homelessness issue,“ stated Republican pollster Brent Buchanan of Cygnal. “The fact that homelessness is still the top issue by far could be the reason voters are pessimistic about the progress being made on downtown Denver’s recovery.”

In addition to homelessness (51%) and housing affordability (41%), voters identify crime and public safety (34%) and the cost of living (32%) as other top issues for the city to address.

Johnston, who took office in July on a promise to end homelessness in his first term, has a positive image among likely 2024 general election voters (46% favorable vs. 22% unfavorable for a +24 favorable rating), though nearly a third say they have no opinion (28%). or had never heard of him (3.5%).

Despite concerns over housing affordability and the financial burden of housing in Denver, half of voters think the city’s policies should prioritize listening to the concerns of residents even if that means new housing sometimes doesn’t get built as opposed to building new housing in all neighborhoods over objections from current residents (37%). Put another way, there is not overall opposition to what are typically framed as “Not in my backyard,” or NIMBY, arguments.

And even those who are most housing-burdened don’t necessarily make the link between housing costs and supply. Among those who say housing costs are a “significant” source of financial strain, 52% prioritize listening to concerns vs. 36% who say building more housing. Similarly, those who say “housing affordability” is a top issue for the city are evenly divided on this question (42% listen to concerns; 43% build more housing).

A slight majority have a favorable view of the Denver Police Department (51% favorable vs. 43% unfavorable). And, while two-thirds (68%) say they feel safe in Denver, the feeling is soft, as a majority (50%) say “somewhat safe” compared to “very safe” (18%).

The poll also looked at two election-related issues that have been in the news and could come before Denver City Council in the weeks ahead.

Nearly two-thirds of voters (63%) support limiting elected officeholders — including mayor, auditor, clerk and recorder, and city council — to no more than two consecutive four-year terms, including 41% who strongly support the idea. Officials can currently serve up to three consecutive terms.

And, by a 2-to-1 margin (48% to 24%), voters said they would support instituting ranked-choice voting for municipal elections.

CPI is a newly launched nonprofit whose mission is to elevate the public dialogue and promote informed decision-making through timely, trustworthy, and nonpartisan public opinion research on the most important issues facing Coloradans.

“Our mission is to provide relevant, actionable, nonpartisan public opinion research on issues in Denver and across the state we love,” said founder David Carlson. “We’ll be relentlessly transparent with our findings and dedicated to high-quality research. We’re proud of the talented team of pollsters and advisors from across the political spectrum we’ve brought together to achieve that goal.”

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Note: Download toplines and crosstabs. Additional analysis can be found online at: copollinginstitute.org