Mayor Cherelle Parker polls favorably despite public safety concerns
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Swayed by declines in gun violence and faith in the Parker administration, 59% of Philadelphians say the city is headed in the right direction, per a Pew Charitable Trusts poll released Wednesday.
Why it matters: That positive outlook is a change-up from recent years — a 23 percentage-point improvement from 2022.
The big picture: Mayor Cherelle Parker's approval rating was 63% entering her second year in office — one of the highest achieved by an incumbent mayor since 2009, per the report.
- Almost half of the nearly 2,300 residents polled between January and March rated her handling of public safety as "good" or "excellent," per the survey.
- About a third believe Parker can deliver on her pledge to make the city greener and cleaner.
Yes, but: Fewer are hopeful that her administration can tackle more entrenched issues, such as the opioid crisis in Kensington.
- 36% of people polled believe her actions addressing the city's drug issues will make "no real difference."
Zoom in: That bubbling optimism wasn't shared by North Philly and the River Wards residents, where nearly half of those polled from both areas believe the city is on the wrong track.
State of play: Despite a stark reduction in homicides last year, 61% of residents still cited public safety as their top concern this year. It's a drop from 70% in 2022, a year after violent crime hit a record high.
- More than half of Philadelphians reported hearing gunshots in their neighborhood, down from 65% in 2022.
- Poverty and homelessness were the city's No. 2 issue, followed by affordable housing and cost of living.
By the numbers: Fewer than half of Philadelphians view gun violence as getting worse, a steep drop from 85% in 2022.
- But only 38% believed homicides had dropped over the last year, and young people between 18 and 29 years old were most likely to think the number of homicides had increased.
The fine print: SSRS, an independent research company in Glen Mills, conducted the poll for Pew with a margin of error of ±2.7%.
Between the lines: More than half of Philadelphians say they felt "completely" or "pretty" safe in their neighborhoods, compared with 44% in 2022.
- Philly's Asian residents felt the least safe of all groups, which Pew said was notable because it was the first time the group's sample size was big enough to analyze their responses.
Yes, but: Black and Latino residents were more likely to say gun violence had impacted their lives, and the findings varied by neighborhoods
- Case in point: 44% of North Philly residents say gun violence has affected their quality of life.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of white and non-Hispanic residents reported feeling "completely" or "pretty" safe in their neighborhoods.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the number of Philadelphians who say the city is headed in the right direction has improved by 23 percentage points since 2022 (not 23%).