Politics & Government
What Are The Most Important Issues For Wilmington Voters?
Hint: while voters are concerned about the proposed drug treatment facility, that did not top the list in the Patch poll.
WILMINGTON, MA — Since it was first announced in September 2017, no issue has dominated local political discussion than the drug treatment facility that has been proposed for 362 Middlesex Avenue. It's also been one of the most divisive issues. But, it turns out, it's not the most important issue the board of selectmen will deal with over the next year, according to Patch's poll of likely voters in Saturday's town election.
That honor goes to "traffic and congestion," which 50 percent of poll respondents said was the most important issue facing the town. The detox center rated as most important by 45.2 percent of respondents in the poll, which asked respondents to rate various, broad issues the town is dealing with on a scale of one to five, with one being "not at all important" and five being "most important."
Worth noting is that if the number of people who rated the issues five and four, or "important," are incorporated into the totals, then economic development at 77.8 percent is a more important issue voters than both traffic and congestion (75.5 percent) and the detox center (63.5 percent).
Find out what's happening in Wilmingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Previously on Patch: Wilmington Selectmen's Race Is Too Close To Call
The online poll of 294 likely voters was conducted between April 19 and 21 and has a five percent margin of error. The poll was only open to Wilmington residents who said they were "definitely voting" or "most likely voting" in Saturday's town election.
Find out what's happening in Wilmingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Here's the break down of the portion of the poll results dealing with issues-based questions:
Rate the following issue facing the town on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being not at all important and 5 being most important:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Finding ways to create more affordable housing. | 9.6% | 10.6% | 19.1% | 26.6% | 34% |
| The proposed drug treatment facility at 362 Middlesex Avenue. | 5.4% | 5.4% | 25.8% | 18.3% | 45.2% |
| Traffic and congestion. | 1.1% | 7.4% | 16% | 25.5% | 50% |
| Zoning and land use. | 4.3% | 3.2% | 23.7% | 33.3% | 35.5% |
| Economic development. | 3.2% | 2.1% | 14.9% | 36.2% | 43.6% |
| Taxes. | 2.2% | 12.9% | 19.4% | 22.6% | 43% |
| Public safety (police and fire) | 6.4% | 8.5% | 16% | 31.9% | 37.2% |
Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
