A marketing researcher has been polling voters in several communities around Suffolk Downs to measure local support for a casino project at the track and to identify the public officials who wield the greatest influence among the people, according to residents polled.
Suffolk Downs officials confirmed yesterday that they are behind the recent surveys in Boston, Revere, Winthrop, and Chelsea. “We can never do enough listening to the local community,’’ said Chip Tuttle, chief operating officer. He said Suffolk Downs has polled “periodically’’ to help inform the development of its casino proposal. He declined to share the latest poll questions or to comment on the results.
In Foxborough, Wynn Resorts, the company that wants to build a $1 billion casino project near Gillette Stadium, has hired a consultant that specializes in computerized data analysis and mapping technology for political campaigns, relatively new tools that cutting-edge campaigns employ to identify potential voters, tailor their political messages, and get their supporters to the polls.
