Janelle Irwin Taylor
Good news for All For Transportation: Hillsborough County’s transportation initiative should pass if the latest polling holds true.
In a St. Pete Polls survey, 48 percent of respondents said they would or have already voted yes on the All For Transportation referendum. Only 43 percent indicated they would or have already voted no.
The transportation initiative is Hillsborough County Referendum No. 2 on the Nov. 6 ballot. Mail-in ballots have already gone out to voters. The initiative would raise sales tax 1 percent to fund both transit and transportation improvements, county-wide.
Of those survey respondents who said they had already voted, 55 percent voted ‘yes’ on the transportation referendum while nearly 42 percent voted no.
Among those who still plan to vote, 45 percent said they would vote yes while 44 percent would vote no.
The issue is perhaps unsurprisingly enjoying more support from Democrats than Republicans. Of the 447 Democrats, 57 percent support the transportation referendum. Among the 388 Republican respondents, that number plummets to 38 percent.
The survey results come as the Tampa firefighters union endorsed the referendum because they say it would increase public safety.
The St. Pete Polls survey included 1,095 responses from likely voters in Hillsborough County. Respondents were selected at random. Those who said they weren’t planning to vote were not included in results. The survey has a 3 percentage point margin of error.
The survey also included another sales tax issue on the November ballot. The one half percent sales tax increase for the Hillsborough County Schools District shows overwhelming support.
Overall, 55 percent said they would vote in favor of the referendum, which would authorize the additional tax for ten years. Only 40 percent said they would or already had voted no.
The margin is even wider among those who already voted by mail. Of those, 61 percent voted yes and just 37 percent voted no.
Like the transportation referendum, support is more widespread among Democrats than Republicans with 66 percent of Democrats approving and 29 percent disapproving. Republicans favor the plan 40 percent while 53 percent reject the plan.
One comment
tim curtis
October 15, 2018 at 3:44 pm
It would be funny if it weren’t so sad. This tax (rip-off) of the near entirety of Hillsborough county will help ONLY the city of Tampa. Now, to be sure they need help – but not at the expense of the citizens/residents/taxpayers of southern and eastern Hillsborough County. Our roads are in horrible shape as a direct result of the lack of leadership by Hagen, Crist, & Murman – had they allocated the actual dollars collected for road maintenance, improvement and construction we would be much better off. And for one last time – Hillsborough County is NOT AND NEVER WILL BE suited for a train/fixed guideway system. While the tax may begin to cover some of the capital expenditures necessary it will NEVER be sufficient to offset the operating costs and the farebox will never make up the difference. It didn’t fit in 1998 when we were told we “couldn’t grow without it (rail)” and it doesn’t fit now!
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