A $430 million plan to repair roads across the Pima County region is resonating with community members, according to a new Arizona Daily Star poll.
The proposal — to be decided by voters in November — currently has roughly 60 percent support, according to the survey, conducted as part of a partnership between the Star and Strongpoint Opinion Research.
There is also good news for the city of Tucson’s proposed $225 million in bonds for park improvements — also backed by property taxes — with 56 percent of Tucson residents polled saying they would vote in favor of the measure.
The poll, conducted in late July, asked 1,452 people how they would vote on state and local propositions, as well as on school bonds and overrides.
Three out of four school district initiatives fared well, with a majority of respondents stating they would support bond or override measures in their respective districts of Vail, Sahuarita and the Catalina Foothills.
The fourth school district, Tanque Verde, which is seeking a $15 million bond for basic safety upgrades, garnered support from only 36 percent of respondents living within the district’s boundaries. Forty-three percent were undecided and another 21 percent opposed the measure.
One statewide ballot measure respondents were concerned about was the Protect Arizona Taxpayers Act.
The proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution would prohibit state and local governments from imposing taxes or fees on any listed service provided in Arizona, like a tax on a haircut.
If the election was held today, only 29 percent of respondents said they would back the measure, while 36 percent said they would vote no. Another 35 percent were undecided.
The Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona amendment, which would require electric utilities to provide at least 50 percent of their annual retail sales of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030, had 73 percent support among those polled.
The Stop Political Dirty Money amendment, which establishes citizens’ right to know the identity of major contributors who are trying to influence the outcome of Arizona elections, had 89 percent support.
And the Invest in Education Act, which would raise the income tax rate on individuals making more than $250,000 and put that money into schools, had 74 percent support.
With a full three months before the Nov. 6 election, the question is whether voters will change their minds on those issues.
For example, the Prop. 204 Strong Start Tucson initiative polled reasonably well last October among Star panel members. However, voters rejected the measure, which would have provided Tucson families with scholarships to send their children to high-quality preschools, by a 2-to-1 margin in November.
The July poll reached a wide range of people: 54 percent were Democrats; 21 percent were Republicans and 21 percent were independents.
Those percentages are similar to the political breakdown for registered voters in Pima County, although the poll had a slightly higher number of Democrats participate and a slightly lower portion of independents.
