With just a few days until election day, a new Insights West poll suggests it’s going to be a close race to replace Mayor Dianne Watts.
The survey found that of those who’ve decided which candidate to support, Linda Hepner and Doug McCallum are tied – with 33% each – and Barinder Rasode is close behind with 30%. A quarter of respondents said they were undecided.
“Any one of these three candidates can win in this election, particularly with so many voters still making up their minds,” said Mario Canseco, vice president of public affairs at Insights West. “All three have created lasting impressions on voters. McCallum is now seen as a superior economic manager, Rasode is gaining traction with her position on crime and Hepner continues to represent a sound option for the status-quo on services.”
The poll survey found most decided voters who are supporting Hepner and McCallum are solid on their choice (69% and 65% respectively), while 54% of Rasode’s decided voters say they might change their mind.
Among the three frontrunners, Hepner was found to be the best person to handle arts and culture (24%), parks and rec (21%), poverty (19%) and the environment (19%). She is practically tied with Rasode on housing (19% to 18%).
McCallum was the top choice on economic development (25%), and city finances/taxation (25%), and is nearly even with Hepner on transportation (22 to 21%).
But when it comes to crime – identified as the key issue facing the city with 54% – Rasode came in first with 27%, followed by McCallum (21%) and Hepner (13%).
Hepner was found to have strong support among Surrey voters aged 55 and up, while Rasode seems to be connecting with those aged 18-34 (40%). The survey found McCallum has stable support across all age groups.
And while Watts isn’t seeking re-election, she still proves to be popular – with 36% of those surveyed saying they “strongly approve” of her performance as mayor, and 37% reporting they “moderately approve.”
Results are based on an online study conducted from November 6 to 8 among 510 Surrey residents aged 18 and older. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. Results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
A Surrey First-commissioned survey was also released Monday and it tells a different story.
The survey found 48% of decided voters would vote for Hepner, 32% for McCallum and 19% for Rasode.
The telephone poll was conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 8 by Innovative Research Group and randomly sampled 600 Surrey residents. The data has been weighted by age, gender and region using Census date. The poll has a margin or error of plus or minus 3.99 percentage points.
