Survey Says...

Push poll shows Santa Fe still not keen on pace of development, but basically happy

Living is easy in Santa Fe.

By the account of exactly 400 Santa Feans who answered questions this summer, the City Different is going in the right direction.

Twenty-two percent of city dwellers actually rated Santa Fe’s quality of life as “excellent” in a survey recently released by the Santa Fe Association of Realtors. But respondents cast a more grim outlook on New Mexico, with 48 percent responding that the state’s on the wrong track.

Respondents—57 percent female, 70 percent Democrats—aren’t too keen on development, with 36 percent saying residential growth is moving at “too fast” of a pace. Fourteen percent said business and commercial growth is occurring “too fast.”

The US Congress might be envious of the Santa Fe City Council’s approval ratings, with 42 percent of respondents saying councilors are doing a “good” job. Yet only 4 percent of respondents rate the council as “excellent.” But they would “much more likely” vote for a mayoral candidate who will work to make Santa Fe safe from crime—55 percent—and a candidate who supports small business and job creation—55 percent. And 73 percent say they’re “almost certain” they’ll vote in the 2014 city election that takes place in March.

Top issues in the upcoming election, they say, are public safety and water supply.

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