I have posted a number of polls on the Nextdoor app, reaching a great many neighborhoods in St. Petersburg.
POLL 1 - Do Nextdoor users know that the proposed deal between the city of St. Petersburg and Rays/Hines would transfer $1.6 billion of our city's resources to billionaires?
Let's Do the Math: 177 people voted. 54% said they did not know.
POLL 2 - Should the decision to spend $1.6 billion of St. Petersburg's taxpayers resources on a new stadium be up to the citizens or up to the 8 City Council Members?
Let's Do the Math: 508 people voted. 89% said citizens should decide.
POLL 3 - What do Nextdoor users think about the deal that has a cost of $1.6 billion to taxpayers in St. Petersburg?
Let's Do the Math: 205 people voted. 73% don't like it.
POLL 4 - After reading The Rays stadium deal draws strong reactions from Tampa Bay residents | Letters to the Editor (the Tampa Bay Times roundup of their letters to the editor about the deal), what do Nextdoor now think about the deal?
Let's Do the Math: 80 people voted. 56% said the deal should be renegotiated and 21% said they don't have enough information to have an opinion.
So here are my conclusions on the math:
A great many people do not know even the basic facts about the costs of the proposed Rays/Hines deal with the city of St. Petersburg
When taxpayers know that this deal will cost St. Petersburg $1.6 billion, they think they should be allowed to vote to approve the deal.
While a great many people don't know the facts, the vast majority don't like the deal.
The City of St. Petersburg and the City Council Members should be sharing the facts with their constituents.
Council Members should host public forums, provide the facts, and hear what their constituents are saying - before they consider how they will vote on the proposed deal. After all isn't it the job of the Council Members to represent their constituents?
