Corroon gets high marks in new poll

Sunday, July 2, 2006

(Salt Lake Tribune)
Corroon gets high marks in new poll
'Understated' reform, veto on stadium fund score with voters

By Derek P. Jensen
The Salt Lake Tribune

He's demure, devoted to nuts-and-bolts issues and routinely ducks the spotlight.

In a way, the anti-Rocky.

His approval numbers trump those of the Democratic Salt Lake City mayor and the Republican president. And they trounce the marks for Utah's Legislature.

Suddenly, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon resonates with residents. And it may be buoyed by his stand on public funds for a Sandy soccer stadium.

"He's a man of works, not words," says Holladay resident Richard Grider. "He wants to do what the people want."

According to a Salt Lake Tribune poll, 63 percent of county voters agree, giving Corroon an "excellent" or "good" job rating. An additional 12 percent hand the first-term Democratic mayor "fair" marks and a meager 3 percent label his performance as "poor."

"I like the fact that he hasn't been controversial," says poll respondent Linda Plouzek, of West Jordan. "Without histrionics or drawing a lot of attention to himself, he's just quietly gone about doing what he said he would do. And I appreciate that."

Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C., conducted the survey June 19 through 21. It carries a 5 percent margin for error.

Corroon's upsurge is tied directly to his newfound prominence in the debate about whether to tap millions in tax money for Real Salt Lake's soccer stadium, according to Matthew Burbank, associate professor of political science at the University of Utah.

"Now you've seen an example of a big event and an unexpected result," Burbank says about Corroon's April rejection of RSL's stadium-funding plan. "People thought all the political stars were lined up to make the stadium happen. They were sort of pleasantly surprised."

Indeed, Corroon's rebuff roiled RSL brass but scored with voters. In the weeks after his decision, the mayor was showered by scores of supportive calls and e-mails. And The Tribune survey shows 69 percent of county voters back his position. Even more, 72 percent, want to see the issue on the ballot.

"I totally agree with him," says poll respondent Elizabeth Bingham, a Taylorsville resident. "It would be a pretty good idea to put the tax money to another use."

Corroon downplays the impact of his stadium rebuke - he may face a similar decision on whether to veto Sandy's latest soccer plan (if the County Council endorses it) - and says he simply tries to run a common-sense, fiscally conservative government.

"The more you're in office, the more people get to know you and your philosophies," the mayor adds. "I'm trying to make it a professional government - take politics out as much as possible."

Corroon also credits a "good group" of advisers, most with public-service experience, for the high approval numbers.

"Hopefully it's a sign that people are happy with the initiatives that we are putting forth."

The 63 percent approval nod is 10 points higher than an earlier survey on Rocky Anderson, the Salt Lake City mayor. But the disparity in negatives is even more stark - Corroon notching just 3 percent, while Anderson hits 17.

Corroon's approval rating among county voters also ranks 4 percentage points higher than Bush's statewide numbers and dwarfs the Legislature's by nearly 25 percent.

Only Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., with a whopping 79 percent approval, rates higher than Corroon.

"I'm happy for him," Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan, a Republican, says about his Democratic counterpart. "People respect him, and he's done a good job in office so far."

That opinion may change if Corroon vetoes Dolan's proposal to steer $35 million - it balloons to $71 million with interest - in county hotel taxes toward land and infrastructure for a Sandy stadium. Dolan calls the investment "seed money" for a prospective $650 million mega-development that could recast the suburb.

But Burbank says Corroon's stadium stand - coupled with his reforms after Mayor Nancy Workman's turbulent tenure - "certainly" has raised his profile.

"There haven't been any big fights or any new scandals coming out," he says. "It's reform done in an understated way."

Quietly - how else? - Corroon also has looked to the future. He has held two successful golf fundraisers with an eye toward re-election in 2008. But both have floated under the political radar.

Shrugs the mayor: "I don't need the limelight."