The post Miami voters support Mayor’s $450M public safety bond proposal, internal poll finds appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..
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A proposal to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars for new emergency response infrastructure in Miami already has enough voter support to pass, according to newly released polling commissioned by Mayor Eileen Higgins’ political committee.
The survey also found that the more residents learn about the plan, the more they like it.
The plan, dubbed “Safe & Ready,” would authorize the issuance of up to $450 million in general obligation bonds for public safety infrastructure projects across the city.
Higgins unveiled the plan last month. It would go before voters if approved by the Miami City Commission on Thursday.
Plantation-based MDW Communications surveyed 410 likely Miami Primary voters May 4-10 in English and Spanish. The poll was weighted by gender, race and ethnicity, party registration, and age to reflect likely 2026 Primary turnout.
It found 57% of voters initially supported the bond before hearing additional details about the proposal. About 21% opposed the plan, while the remaining 22% were undecided.
But support shot up to 67.5% after voters heard more about the plan, the city’s aging emergency response infrastructure, projected improvements to emergency response times and what the survey described as a “modest cost to the typical household.”
Opposition remained nearly unchanged at 21.9%, though the share of undecided voters fell to 10.6%.
Image via MDW Communications.
A memo accompanying the survey said the measure achieved more than 60% support in all five City Commission districts and drew bipartisan backing across all party lines in Miami.
Higgins said in a statement that the poll shows Miami residents understand what’s at risk and want to invest in infrastructure that safeguards their homes, families and neighborhoods.
“Keeping our community safe means making sure our first responders have the facilities, technology, and infrastructure they need to do their jobs effectively,” she said. “It also means more local fire-rescue stations so response times meet national standards in every neighborhood.”
The proposed bond would fund projects including a modern police headquarters that would replace the existing 50-year-old one, a new 911 call center, a Category 5-ready emergency operations center and various modernization and expansion projects at neighborhood fire-rescue stations.
A City Commission vote on the bond proposal was originally scheduled for April 23, but Higgins asked for the authorizing resolution to be deferred three weeks following impassioned comments by residents and first responders.
Some residents voiced skepticism about the proposal’s cost and whether city officials have provided enough accountability for past borrowing initiatives.
Several speakers pointed to Miami’s history of scandals and questioned whether the city should take on another $450 million in debt before fully accounting for spending tied to the 2017 “Miami Forever” bond, which funded flooding, parks and affordable housing projects.
Others questioned whether the proposal’s price tag was justified.
Meanwhile, supporters — including police and fire rescue personnel — argued existing conditions are substandard and overdue for improvement.
Higgins said the bond package is intended to address long-standing infrastructure needs while upgrading disaster preparedness and emergency response capabilities.
“The Safe & Ready bond is about life-saving public safety, emergency preparedness, and delivering the infrastructure our growing city deserves,” Higgins said. “This is a crisis — residents want a city government that solves long-ignored problems, invests responsibly, and keeps them safe.”
MDW’s survey had a margin of error of 4.8 percentage points.
The post Miami voters support Mayor’s $450M public safety bond proposal, internal poll finds appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..
