Mayor Cantrell gets 57 percent approval rating in new quality of life survey

2018 Quality of Life Survey includes City Council, crime, affordable housing, traffic cameras and more

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has a 57 percent job approval rating overall, according to the 2018 Quality of Life Survey conducted by the University of New Orleans Survey Research Center. The survey, known as the UNO Poll, also found that Orleans Parish residents consider crime to be the biggest problem facing the parish, and nearly half of New Orleans residents approve of the job the City Council is doing.

The survey of 500 Orleans Parish voters and 500 Jefferson Parish voters took place from Oct. 17 to Nov. 5. There is a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.4 percent.

About the Survey

The UNO Survey Research Center began its Quality of Life series in 1986. Since then, the quality-of-life and government services in Jefferson and Orleans parishes has been assessed approximately every other year. The 32-year time series can be used to assess the effects of events, programs and policies.

The surveys are designed to provide an ongoing picture of how voters view local government services and the general quality of life. They highlight the problems that are of greatest concern to the voters, as well as areas of satisfaction in their parish.

The results of the Quality of Life surveys represent the perceptions and opinions of the registered voters of the two parishes. The results are not objective measures of the quality of life or the quality of government services.

Results

In addition to Mayor Cantrell’s 57 percent overall approval rating, New Orleans City Council hovers close to 50 percent. District D has the highest with a solid 50 percent approval. Crime is the biggest problem facing Orleans Parish, according to 35 percent of Orleans Parish residents surveyed.

Here are more results from the survey:

• Over the past eight years, voters in New Orleans have been more satisfied with life in the city than in previous years
• Crime is the biggest problem facing both parishes but residents in Orleans are much less likely to report that than they did two years ago
• The percentage of Orleans residents rating the city’s control of drainage and flooding negatively has doubled from 2016
• Two-thirds of residents in Orleans Parish and one-quarter of Jefferson residents negatively evaluated the affordability of housing
• Jefferson residents are very optimistic about the opportunities for employment in the parish and are more positive than Orleans residents about the likelihood of new jobs and industry coming to their parish
• One-third of Orleans residents think the traffic cameras should remain in place, while six-in-ten believe the cameras should be taken down
• Three-fourths of Orleans residents say that the traffic cameras should remain in place in school zones, but nearly two-thirds oppose having the traffic cameras operate outside of school zone hours

For more information, see the complete 2018 Quality of Life Survey.