A
new
survey
of
Cleveland
registered
voters
conducted
Sept.
27-Oct.
8
by
the
Baldwin
Wallace
University
Community
Research
Institute
(CRI)
finds
nonprofit
executive
Justin
Bibb
leading
Cleveland
City
Council
President
Kevin
Kelley,
34%-25%,
but
a
big
40%
of
respondents
remain
undecided
with
the
mayoral
election
about
three
weeks
away.
Differing
demographic
margins
The
combination
phone
and
web
panel
survey
results
show
Bibb
leading
Kelley
among
all
respondent
ages
and
races,
ranging
from
a
six-point
lead
among
35-
to
54-year-olds
to
a
12-point
lead
among
18-
to
34-year-olds.
Among
those
who
expressed
a
preference,
Black
voters
favor
Bibb
by
26
points
(34%-18%),
while
Bibb
holds
a
narrow
three-point
lead
among
white
voters
(35%-32%).
Bibb's
lead
is
10
points
(34%-24%)
among
Hispanic/Asian-American/Native
American/Middle
Eastern/mixed-race
voters
(which
were
combined
as
"Other"
due
to
small
respondent
samples).
"In
our
snapshot
of
voter
preference,
Justin
Bibb
continues
the
strong
lead
he
held
coming
out
of
the
primary,
but
there
is
a
large
group
of
undecided
voters,"
said
Tom
Sutton,
director
of
BW
CRI.
"It's
likely
that
the
40%
who
are
undecided
includes
a
mix
of
primary
voters
who
chose
a
candidate
other
than
Bibb
or
Kelley.
Each
candidate
has
received
endorsements
from
East
Side
primary
opponents
(Zach
Reed
for
Bibb,
and
Basheer
Jones
for
Kelley)."
Clevelanders
on
the
issues
Safety
and
schools
top
the
list
of
issues
that
weigh
on
the
minds
of
Cleveland
voters.
The
poll
asked
respondents
to
choose
up
to
three
"concerns"
from
a
list
of
15.
Cleveland
voters
chose
"safety
in
my
neighborhood"
first
(45.7%),
followed
by
"the
quality
of
the
Cleveland
public
schools"
(39.8%).
The
response
time
of
police
and
how
police
treat
residents
were
next
at
23.8%
and
20.9%,
respectively.
Accessing
reliable
internet
connection
was
at
the
bottom
of
the
list
at
2.8%.
"Public
safety
and
education
are
top
of
mind
for
Cleveland
voters,"
said
Sutton.
"Timely
response
and
how
residents
are
treated
by
police
are
persistent
concerns."
Parks
and
road
projects
popular
Respondents
were
also
asked,
"Which
of
the
following
changes
in
Cleveland
have
benefitted
you,
your
family
and/or
your
neighborhood?"
The
change
selected
most
often
was
"Metroparks
management
and
improvements
to
Edgewater
Park
and
Euclid
Beach"
(33.3%),
followed
by
"the
street
repair
bond
program"
(28.8%).
"Redevelopment
of
the
Ohio
City,
Detroit
Shoreway
and
Tremont
neighborhoods"
(25.4%)
was
next.
Bringing
up
the
rear
on
this
list
were
"renovation
of
Rocket
Mortgage
Fieldhouse"
(10.6%)
and
"Cleveland
hosting
the
Republican
National
Convention
in
2016"
(10%).
According
to
Sutton,
"Parks,
improved
housing
and
gathering
spaces
are
more
important
to
voters
than
the
splash
of
costly
high-profile
events
and
upgraded
entertainment
venues."
Survey
methodology
and
margin
of
error
The
Baldwin
Wallace
University
Community
Research
Institute
conducted
a
poll
of
419
Cleveland
registered
voters
between
9/27/21
and
10/8/21,
asking
questions
about
the
mayoral
election
taking
place
on
November
2,
2021.
The
poll
sample
consisted
of
291
(69.5%)
live
phone
interviews
and
128
(30.5%)
web
panel
responses.
The
live
interviews
included
238
cell
phone
respondents
(81.8%)
and
53
landline
phone
respondents
(18.2%).
The
live
interviews
were
conducted
by
the
CRI
survey
call
center
and
Gravis
Market
Research.
Gravis
also
conducted
the
web
panel
survey.
The
survey
results
were
weighted
by
gender
and
age.
The
margin
of
error
for
the
survey
is
+5.1%.
Access
the
complete
survey
instrument
with
weighting
details.
