The recently released results of The Pulse survey contain some uncomfortable truths about public perception of the region, casting a dimmer light on the state of the Spokane area than we'd like to see. 

Discomfort, however, might be just what the community's government and business leaders need at this time to take the action necessary to improve the state of the community. 

Funded by Greater Spokane Incorporated, The Pulse survey asked 600 randomly selected registered voters in Spokane County a multitude of questions about their perceptions of the region. The results were disconcerting at best. 

Nearly 9 in 10 people polled said they're worried about the future of downtown, citing concerns about drugs, crime, and homelessness, and three-quarters of those asked agree that recent policy decisions by the city of Spokane are causing local small businesses to close and move away. 

Nearly 6 in 10 respondents said the overall quality of life in the region is getting worse, and arguably most concerning, the same percentage of people said they have considered moving out of the area. 

Those are some of the details—and there are lots more—but the one takeaway from the survey that most will remember is the 3.6 cumulative rating for quality of life.

That feels low, especially when compared with the 4.7 rating that Seattle, which has conducted such surveys longer than Spokane has, received in a similar fall survey conducted by the same polling company, EMC Research Inc.

While we still would argue that the lack of congestion and lower cost of living make the Inland Northwest an attractive alternative for businesses that want to leave the West Side, the disparity between the scores for Spokane and Seattle are a particular punch in the gut for those long-held beliefs by our region's advocates. 

At this stage, the data points are out there, and we have three choices regarding how we react to our discomfort: deny, delight, or do something. 

We were disappointed to see some of Spokane's City Council members take the denial route, being quoted as questioning the integrity of the poll in one case, and deflecting blame to Spokane County in another. The disconnect between citizen dissatisfaction and those attitudes couldn't be more pronounced. We can only hope that as time passes, they see the data for what it is: a starting place for making measurable improvements within our community. 

On the other end of the spectrum, it appears as though the results have emboldened critics of drug, homeless, and crime issues within the city's core. While we share some of the frustrations of the city's most vocal detractors, now is not the time for schadenfreude. And billboards putting the mayor on blast help nothing. 

It's time to do something, whatever we can. We need more businesses to make a commitment to keep workers downtown and to incentivize downtown residential, both of which would fill stores, restaurants, and streets. We need to get our vulnerable people the help they need, while holding bad actors accountable for their actions. We need our elected officials to be more mindful of how the laws they create increase housing prices or make housing harder to attain. 

Those of us who have been around awhile have seen Spokane at its best and know we aren't as far off as the results of The Pulse survey might indicate. We also know our community and downtown remain the envy of many peers, some of whom are grappling with similar issues. Another survey will occur in six months. Let's roll up our sleeves and see what we can do to improve those results, converting our discomfort into results with which we're more comfortable.