Monday, October 29, 2007

Poll: Voters Place Square Fourth On Issues List

Henry will win, Oct. poll says
But nothing is certain until Nov. 6 election, party heads say
Link

Still, when asked what issue was most important to them when choosing a mayor, respondents ranked Kelty’s indictment second, behind economic development. Tied for third were leadership/vision and annexation/property taxes, and in fourth place was Harrison Square, the city’s $125-million-to-$160-million downtown revitalization project.
...
Wolf said while Kelty’s indictment wasn’t voters’ No. 1 deciding factor, he said it is one of Kelty’s biggest obstacles with 20 percent of respondents saying it was their most important issue in determining their vote. He said Kelty is running on a leadership platform and those whose answers were annexation/property taxes and Harrison Square were most likely angry about the issues, so more likely to be Kelty supporters. However, those issues equal only 38 percent of respondents, not enough on their own to win.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bad news for Kelty with indictments above H. Square.

barranda said...

“That's what the public has been trained to think. (No one) has said, ‘He's innocent until proven guilty.' I'm not surprised,” Kelty said.

Open mouth insert foot. Ever since the primary, this election has been about MK's ability to garner support from the middle. Since then he has shown his ability to ostracize or otherwise offend much of voting base. This latest comment is a reflection of that attitude. He now more or less says that the voters aren't smart enough to realize that he's innocent until proven guilty. They are brainwashed.

It seems that MK's only chance is to foster apathy in the voters by making them think that Henry will win in a landslide. I simply cannot fathom voters being apathetic!

Speakeasyhoosier said...

Hey, in my book this poll was taken when Kelty was at his lowest October 17-19.

It was before the debates
It was before Kelty's media advertising began.
It was before his motion to dismiss (which communicates possibility he will beat the charges)
It was a week after "Cake Gate"
Most importantly it was THE DAY AFTER Souder's shun...the most hurtful of all to Kelty's campaign...and...

Kelty was still only 14 points down?!?

Without the paperwork debacle, (all funds raised by Kelty, as few as there are compared to Henry, are completely legal, and people in Fort Wayne know that!) Kelty wins on the issues hands down.

My take is this, I sent emails to Mr. Souder to implore him to make a public announcement for or against supporting Kelty A.S.A.P. to put speculation to rest. It was newsworthy, but I think most reasonable people realize that in the national arena "Felony" is a buzz word that Souder cannot be associated with and expect to politically survive, whether the counts are valid or not. So after a couple weeks of reflection, it makes sense and doesn't hurt Kelty anymore.

Tom Henry's only hope is that the race for mayor doesn't get back to the issues. Kelty kicked the Nelson Peters campaign on the issues and he's kicking the Tom Henry campaign the on issues too.
Kitty Hawk, public dollars, Councilman Henry...need I say more?

It all boils down to whether Kelty can convince us he would make a competent mayor and that he will be there when the court case is settled.

P.S. I really like Chris Stewart for 4th district council. I think he would be great for newly annexed areas and has insight needed for Harrison Square.

Anonymous said...

The 14 Point lead is the floor for Kelty. The actual lead according to every other poll including some taken during the exact same time period is much much larger.

Speakeasyhoosier said...

My point exactly, yet Kelty is still in the game.

The poll was also taken amongst a certain demographic. Those who were home at the time of calling, those who live predominantly with land lines (not cell phones),those who were willing to take a poll...

I'm not saying this favors either candidate, but I am saying that given the events current to when this poll was taken, the numbers would be expected to be much worse.

Kelty people should be encouraged, Henry people should also be encouraged but they ought not take victory for granted.

My hope is that this week we can finally get to the issues. I can accept the outcome much better if the winner gets a clear mandate for the issues he stands on.