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[walk_and_roll]

Perhaps. But the OP said the chair didn't have a lot of leadership experience. Maybe, just maybe, he would value some useful feedback if it were presented delicately? (Maybe if the OP said "We got this survey to fill out, and it got me to thinking... I didn't want to say this in the survey, but..."?)

Maybe I'm being naïve. But as someone who was once thrust into a leadership position without a lot of experience, I think I would have liked the feedback.

[rear_view_mirror]

I've been in this business for about 5 years, so I'm not completely naive about the politics. But I am feeling bad about having to be a coward in the face of people in power.

Sigh.

So it's not just about the opportunity to improve the department, which is doubtful anyway. It's about what you think of yourself.
A person who declines to tell the whole truth when asked by untrustworthy people is not a coward. A coward would be more someone who picks on someone who can't fight back.
So you're too hard on yourself.