Rocky fails to rally Utahns in poll

Most Utahns and most Salt Lake City residents didn't like Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson calling for protests against President Bush when the president visited here two weeks ago, a new poll shows.

And perhaps in part because of that controversial protest, most city residents don't think Anderson should be re-elected to another four-year term in 2007, a survey conducted for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV by Dan Jones & Associates shows.

Only 36 percent said Anderson should be re-elected; 53 percent said it's time to give someone new a chance to serve as mayor, Jones found.

Anderson hasn't said yet whether he'll run again. And opinions can certainly change over two years, especially when city voters see who is challenging Anderson. (No one has yet announced against him.)

But Jones' survey shows that many city residents have questions about Anderson and his political style, which some characterize as controversial and adversarial.

The mayor met with the media Friday to apologize for errors he acknowledges having made when dealing with some employees in his office — 41 of whom have been fired or resigned over the past six years. "I've made hiring mistakes," he said.

Informed of the poll results, Anderson said, "I was absolutely right" in calling for anti-Bush administration protests, even though by a bare majority (51 percent to 48 percent) city residents disagreed with that call.

Despite those numbers, Anderson can find some good news in the new poll, as well.

Most city residents — 54 percent — approve of the job Anderson is doing as mayor. (By contrast, some national polls show only 40 percent of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing as president.)

Forty-four percent of city residents disapprove of Anderson's job performance, Jones found. Only 1 percent didn't know or have an opinion, a very low number that shows that Anderson is certainly a well-known politician in the city.

Six months ago Anderson's job approval rating was 59 percent, Jones found in a March survey.

Anderson is a Democrat in a heavily Republican state. He's gotten into numerous battles with Utah's GOP majority, especially the Republican-dominated state Legislature. The Bush protest is just Anderson's latest squabble with the state's political majority.

Not surprisingly, Jones found that people outside of Salt Lake City don't like Anderson, his politics or actions.

Across the state, Utahns (including the normal sampling in the city) disapprove of the mayor's job performance — 64 percent against, only 28 percent in favor. And three out of four Utahns disagreed with Anderson's call for public protests when Bush came to the city to speak to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.