On-the-Street Survey Shows Apathy to Election

The news folks here at the Mercury have been thinking a lot about Measures 66 and 67 over the past few weeks, writing a rousing endorsement and hollering out the window to canvassers. But are they really in touch with public sentiment? To find out, they sent an intrepid intern (me) on a forced march up NE Sandy Boulevard to question around 20 local businesses.

I asked the first person I met in each business—sometimes an owner, usually an employee—whether they supported the tax measures. The results? A lot of apathy and ignorance.

Of the 19 people I questioned, 12 either didn’t know or didn’t care what Measures 66 and 67 were about. Two of those who didn’t know expressed interest in learning more and possibly voting. Four people said they would vote yes, although one of them didn’t get a ballot. Another three said they planned to vote no.

All of the no votes came from business owners. Chris Wehler of Cookies by Design said she supports raising the current $10 corporate minimum tax, but she’s worried that Measure 67 would tax a percentage of gross income. (After consulting with Steve Novick, a tax expert who’s heading up the Yes campaign, I learned that this applies only to C-corporations making more than $500,000 a year. Chris is registered as an S-Corp, and when I called her back she said “I guess that shows that I’m not very educated, and they haven’t done a good job of getting the information out.” You can also browse the full amendments in the Online Voters’ Guide.) Fred Kline of John W. Negus Company (which sells rollers, casters and hand trucks) said, “I haven’t read up… I need to sit down with my wife and work on that. But businesses do pay their fair share. I’m leaning no.” Lance at Players Racquet Shop simply said “no.”

Kebede Bogale, an African immigrant, is the owner of Dashen International Groceries at NE 30th and Glisan. He said he would vote yes: “The problem with this country is that they don’t take care of the poor. In Europe the taxes are higher, but they take care of the poor.” However, Bogale recently changed his address, and never received a ballot for this election.

Three other people said they would vote yes: Barbara Eisworth of thrift store I Remember That, Panzella at Hollywood Vintage, and Laurelthirst bartender Jason (“because I’m a Socialist!”).

• Marina’s Kafe on NE 28th and Sandy

And beyond that, indecision. Marina, the owner of Marina’s Kafe on NE 28th and Sandy, was sitting in her shop having coffee at a table. She told me she hadn’t had time to look at the measures. The proprietor of K&T Market, a convenience store, didn’t know about them either.

The rest of the “don’t know” or “not voting” answers came from employees whose bosses weren’t around. It’s possible that some of these people didn’t want to say something to a reporter that might get back to the higher-ups. Some told me to come back when the owners were around, and others said they were simply too busy to read up on the issues. Josh, an employee at Black Hole Body Piercing who also works other jobs, said he’d try to find time to learn about the measures. Nine of the 10 employees who were unsure appeared to be under 40.

My sample group of 19 is a far cry from a scientific poll, but it shows less involvement than one might expect. And the respondents—the mostly young, wage-earning set—are at the center of both campaigns. The Mercury endorsement urges apathetic young people to vote yes. On the other side, there’s the infamous “Paula’s Bake Shop” spot (regardless of whether it is factual, well-acted and/or actually filmed in California). It warns that the taxes will affect small-business owners, who will then have no choice but to lay off employees or reduce hiring. That message apparently hasn’t reached the majority of workers I interviewed. But neither have the facts.