Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales
I am not sure that 2-3 people is enough.
Actually, this could be enough, if the site would launch as a beta. In my opinion, a beta version of Wikinews doesn't need so much Wikip(m)edians - just look at pl.Wikinews. We're slowing down, but we had the most number of people who wanted to work on this project (from the three Wikinews sites launched lately). This could be due to number of reasons, but anyway - if we want to have Wikinews in a beta stage, 2-3 people is enough. If we want to start with a full-fledged news service, we need way more people - 10 may be enough.
As for the local poll, it wouldn't be good, in my opinion. Many people would want this project to be made, but only a few of them would contribute.