And Stuart Elway, a Seattle-based pollster, offered insight as to what voters meant by approving the initiative. Underestimate them at your peril. Elway credits the initiative's popularity with a basic distrust of government, citing examples of Seattle sports stadiums voters didn't want but got and a monorail system they did want but didn't get. As trust is broken, eventually your ability to do your jobs as public servants breaks down. Other polls Elway has conducted since the election indicate voters want officials to respond by cutting budgets instead of using reserves, a theme that was reiterated throughout the day.
Polls also show voters want some government services privatized.
Elway warned the group to heed voters' message. Stan Finkelstein, executive director of the Association of Washington Cities, also warned against using reserves to pay for ongoing expenses, such as worker salaries. Using them to maintain services could give voters a false sense that even more could be cut. Besides, reserve money needs to be saved for emergencies, Finkelstein said. And bond market experts said jurisdictions may need extra cash around to keep their bond rating from dropping.