Corroon support steady
Voters don't mind the mayor's mind changes
No matter what he does, poll after poll shows county voters support him. They supported him in May, after he shocked Real Salt Lake by saying no to a publicly funded soccer stadium. They supported him again in July after he stood his ground on the stadium debate.
And now, after changing his mind and supporting a plan that would give $55 million in public subsidies to Real for a stadium in Sandy, voters in Salt Lake County still support him.
"That's about who I am — steady Eddie," Corroon said. "I've always promised I won't make decisions based on what is politically good for me, but what is best for the citizenry, and I think they recognize that."
A new Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll shows Corroon remains steady with a 63 percent approval rating. The Dan Jones & Associates poll of 159 county voters has a margin of error of 7.5 percent and was conducted Monday through Thursday of last week.
In July, a similar poll showed Corroon had a 69 percent approval rating, while 68 percent of the voters in May approved of his job performance.
The soccer debate thrust Corroon into the local spotlight after he nixed two other soccer stadium funding plans in recent months. But as an Aug. 12 make-or-break deadline loomed, Corroon huddled with other county leaders to hammer out a plan to make all sides happy and keep the team in Utah.
His office has been flooded with e-mail and phone calls since the stadium groundbreaking, with the majority saying they don't like the decision Corroon made.
"I am really disappointed in the county's decision to give into Checkett's (sic) 3 year old games of pouting and whining," one man wrote in an e-mail to Corroon just days after the mayor endorsed the stadium funding plan. "I'm glad to see that our county officials have no back bone. Maybe its (sic) time that we voted in someone who would do the job better, and maybe this time we can get someone with a back bone."
Corroon said he never closed the door on Real. Even after denying the first two funding plans, he was always open to finding a way to make funding work, Corroon said.
By holding out so long, Corroon says, he's secured the best deal possible for the residents of Salt Lake County. In exchange for sharing a $20 million parking garage and $35 million in hotel-tax dollars, the team will give the county $27.5 million in cash and in-kind donations. Plus, the county will own $35 million worth of land at the stadium site, which it will own no matter how successful the team is.
In last week's Dan Jones poll, 47 percent of county residents support Corroon's decision to now support a stadium funding plan, after twice rejecting the team. Another 38 percent disagreed with the decision, while 14 percent didn't know. The poll had a margin of error of 7.5 percent.
Salt Lake County voters were evenly split in their views on Real owner Dave Checketts: 33 percent have a favorable impression of the man, 33 percent don't like him and 35 percent said they didn't know.
E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com
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