January 2022 Power Poll Results

Muhammad Ali’s 80th birthday anniversary has now been celebrated, and Power Poll would like to add our own felicitations and mark the legacy of this remarkable Louisvillian. Our PP participants are divided over the of the options we suggested to celebrate “The Greatest.”

Nearly a majority—41 percent of those responding—believe the best commemoration would be for the city to enact “lasting, systematic police reform.” Surely such achievements could make Ali’s hometown resonate with his message of harmony and peace. The next most popular method chosen could be done whether any of the others are achieved: for sculptor Ed Hamilton to create a statue of The Champ. Like his sculptures of Abraham Lincoln and York, the Louisville artist would himself be honored by being chosen for this singular work of public art.

Two other options were less popular, but still noteworthy: Sixteen percent of those surveyed think reforming the student assignment plan of Jefferson County Public Schools would be a proper tribute. And a substantial 18 percent, almost one in five, have other methods of celebration in mind.

When nearly six in ten Power Poll participants vote one way, we take notice. Fully 58 percent of you believe that the site on Hwy 22 near Ballard High is the wrong site for a new Veteran’s Hospital. In that sense, these folks agree with environmentalists and others who are opposed, even though Sen. Mitch McConnell and others have broken ground, and the site, literally is being bulldozed. A quarter of responder agree with the site, and 18 percent either have no opinion or don’t know if it is a good or bad place for this huge development.

The last question was not a trick: We asked whether the focus of Louisville’s economic development efforts on bourbon and alcohol was responsible in terms of public safety. Fifty-seven percent say yes, a statistic bolstered by a recent study for state government published in Business First: The Kentucky bourbon industry generates $9 billion for the Bluegrass State's economy every year, with more than 22,500 jobs and $1.2 billion in payroll. And as they say, that ain’t hay—or barleycorn, either! Lest you think that the health and safety concerns were unimportant, 31 percent of our Louisville leaders polled, are concerned about them. Surely efforts at education and moderation by the distilling industry itself mitigate these worries. Only 12 percent have no opinion.

So let’s lift a toast (alcoholic or non-) to Muhammad Ali, and settle in for the rest of winter. Just think, when you see the new set of Power Poll questions, spring will be just a month away!