Results of latest ‘Quality of Life’ survey are released
3rd December 2018 · 0 Comments
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
Growing disapproval of the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office and sustained dissatisfaction with the Orleans criminal courts system were two key findings revealed last week in the University of New Orleans Survey Research Center’s 2018 Quality of Life Survey.
Other significant results of the bi-annual UNO report, which involved telephone polling of 500 Orleans Parish voters and 500 Jefferson Parish voters, included increased unhappiness with the performance of New Orleans Police Department Chief Michael Harrison; a massive jump in public discontent toward the city’s control of drainage and flooding; a moderately positive approval rating for new New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell; and a stark difference in viewpoints toward the local economy between Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish.
This is the 19th edition of the UNO Quality of Life study, with the first one occurring in 1986. This year’s study carries a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.4 percent.
According to the survey, 42 percent of Orleans voters disapprove of the performance of District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, representing a steep drop of 13 percentage points from 2016.
There seems to also be a disparity between support for Cannizzaro from white and Black respondents – 46 percent of African Americans approve of his performance, while only 38 percent of whites think he’s doing a good job.
In addition, just 33 percent of respondents overall viewed the performance of the Orleans Parish criminal courts favorably. When broken down by race, only 27 percent of whites and 39 percent of Blacks have a favorable impression of the courts system. Overall, 53 percent of Orleans voters disapprove of the criminal courts’ performance.
Ed Chervenak, director of the UNO Survey Research Center, said that historically city and parish residents have viewed the criminal courts with skepticism, citing dissatisfaction with perceived retention and prosecution ineffectiveness.
“My guess is that there is a perception of a revolving door in the courts,” Chervenak said. “Police are arresting people, but somehow [arrestees] are ending up back out on the streets, and [voters] are assigning blame to the courts.”
Regarding the low approval ratings for Cannizzaro, for example, Chervenak said simmering controversies over alleged illegitimate, or “fake,” subpoenas and the tendency to try teenagers as adults “seems to be taking a toll on his approval rating.”
By comparison, a slight majority – 56 percent – of voters approved of NOPD Chief Harrison’s performance. However, that still represents a drop of six percentage points from the 2016 UNO survey. In addition, only 44 percent of white poll respondents hold a favorable view of Harrison, compared to a 64-percent approval rating of Harrison by African-American voters.
In sharp contrast to Orleans Parish residents’ views of their law enforcement officers, a full 76 percent of Jefferson Parish residents approve of the performance of Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto, the highest mark for any elected official in the survey.
When it came to approval ratings for local elected governments, 57 percent of Orleans voters view the performance of Mayor Cantrell favorably, a fact that could be attributed to her status as a first-year mayor.
“She seems to be enjoying a honeymoon period,” Chervenak said.
The report states that 62 percent of Black voters approve of the job Cantrell is doing, compared to 52 percent of white respondents.
The New Orleans City Council, received a slightly lower approval mark than the mayor – only 47 percent of voters overall gave the OK to the council’s performance. Breaking down in terms race, 49 percent of African Americans approve of the City Council’s efforts, compared to 45 percent of white residents.
When analyzing voters’ perceptions of government services in general, of particular note within the survey was the overwhelmingly negative view of the New Orleans drainage system. Chervenak said that while perceptions of several public services dropped off from 2016 to 2018, the largest change came regarding drainage and flood control – a full 77 percent of respondents viewed drainage and sewerage negatively, more than double the figure of 38 percent in 2016.
Chervenak said that, given such factors as the 2017 flooding rains, billing discrepancies and the general disorder within the Sewerage & Water Board, he expected a jump in negative feelings toward the drainage system. But he acknowledges that he was surprised by the huge amount of disapproval.
“I didn’t expect it to double like that,” he said.
While crime remains the biggest problem for residents in both parishes, the percentage of voters citing it as their primary concern has dropped since 2016. Meanwhile, economic factors are also vital to residents, with concern over issues such as homelessness, job prospects and affordability of housing remaining important, especially in Orleans Parish.
Overall, 70 percent of Orleans residents are satisfied with their quality of life in New Orleans, compared to a whopping 91-percent rate of satisfaction in Jefferson Parish, with the study stating that “[t]his difference is what we would expect when comparing a lower income city with a more middle income suburb.”
Chervenak made particular note of the general optimism of Jefferson voters, especially compared to their Orleans Parish counterparts. He said that “when it comes to the economy, Jefferson Parish residents are extremely bullish.”
The complete 2018 UNO Quality of Life Survey can be viewed at http://www.uno.edu/cola/political-science/documents/2018-quality-of-life-report.pdf.
This article originally published in the December 3, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
