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Seattle ballot issues face trust deficit

An exclusive KIRO 7 scientific poll shows that 61 percent of Seattle voters lack trust in city government.

“I guess my concerns about efficiency. How well is the money being used? Like where's it going,” said Todd Behan who said he appreciated the protected bike track on Second Avenue.

“They're doing the best job they can I think,” said Christophe Job added. Job indicated he generally trusts Seattle government, but said, “There's still a lot of stuff that can be improved, perhaps a lot of city planning, infrastructure, traffic.”

Trust issues could hurt the mayor's $636 million Families and Education Levy City Council members are planning to put on the November ballot.

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Asked about the deep distrust Councilman Rob Johnson responded, there does seem to be a deep distrust that we see in the scientific polling.

"Can I answer that one? Sure. It's May, this is proposed to be on the ballot in November. A lot can change between now and then," Johnson said.

Asked how the council can rebuild trust, Johnson responded, “One of the best ways for us to build trust is to continue to talk about the investments that we're making well as a city on this (education) levy in particular. We have seen really, significant successes for those kids in our pre-school program.”

Seattle voters are known for supporting education levies, but it will likely be tougher to persuade them to retain the employee head tax if that referendum qualifies for the ballot. Our KIRO-7 poll shows 54% of Seattle voters oppose it.