YES!!!!!
If you look at the polling only 33% thought the LRT was the main issue of the campaign. Albeit the largest issue.
That’s an interpretation that does not tell the whole story.
It reinforces what I said. Forum poll just proved my point when cross-referenced with what happened locally in huge-budget-advertising issue-equivalence tactics: LRT=Taxes, LRT=Traffic, LRT=Less for fixing roads, LRT=Infrastructure, LRT=Transit, LRT=Less funding for buses, etc. Many were false equivalences (some less so, some much so) but the FUD scaremongering was big budget and Trumpian.
So let’s bring this out in the open.
Quite dominant, no?
Even where people said taxes were the main issue, a lot of the same people thought LRT was #2 or #3 and voted based on that, too. Would you deny that?
This was much more dominant, and even when I talk to many who considered LRT as #2 or #3, it still had a major factor into their vote. Would you deny that, too?
In addition, there are many unintentional biasings under the surface - Such at “Property Taxes” and “Traffic Congestion” and saying LRT is not important (but they intentionally voted NOLRT because they are more concerned about “Property Taxes” than the LRT they intentionally don’t want to acknowledge). —
intentional lowering of LRT importance in acknowledgement refusal.
In addition, there are voters who hate the LRT so much because of something they're hugely worried about. Such as LRT raising taxes. They focus on their highest priority attribute that they think LRT may also affect (the Property Taxes) being their bigger worry, unwittingly accidentally de-emphasizing LRT. Similar but
unintentional lowering of LRT importance.
You know....because they thought LRT will kill traffic, or LRT will reduce funding for roads elsewhere, or LRT will raise taxes, so they voted for the
secondary issue (that they think LRT will affect) as being #1. They’ve still voted because of LRT despite not being in the 33% bar!
Also, the way the question is worded, did not have
“I worry LRT raises taxes Yes/No”
“I worry LRT makes car traffic worse Yes/No”
“I worry LRT reduces Road/Infrastructure spending Yes/No”.
(And etc).
Otherwise, how did
single-issue Vito get 38% of the vote when Forum said LRT was only 33%?
And that is assuming 100% of the 33% was NOLRT (including merely wanting the monies spent on roads/infra/lower tax instead). So leaving none of the “I must have LRT” vote within your claimed Forum 33% for Fred. How the heck did this happen?
Now, people voted on other things! Yup!!
But a number of those were loudly linked to LRT!! Infrastructure. Taxes. Transit. Etc. There was loud talk about $1B being redirected to fixing roads, as one gargantuan example of many! And what about those “LRT = Lets Raise Taxes” scare tactics Hamiltonians got? Those are other bars! Need I go on....
Which were common refrains here! They had to choose only one. The forum poll is subject to such fuzzy interpretations.
So, this in effect, many of the “Roads” bar, “Traffic” bar, “Transit” bar, “Infrastructure” bar (and other bars) actually considered LRT as part of the vote. Not 100%, but not 0% either. It all adds up, however.
If the question was simply distilled to a direct and inclusive Yes/No question:
“
Did the LRT factor in your voting decision?
(Including ALL related effects you think LRT will affect for better or for worse — such as infrastructure, budgets, taxes, and traffic/transit changes) ”
....then the percentage would skyrocket well past this number. It can easily go well past >60%+ to 70%+ on this complex interacting issue.
Conclusion: Hamilton 2018 vote was a defacto LRT vote.