Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini holds a double-digit lead over her two main challengers, Steve Harmsen and Rich McKeown, going into Tuesday's primary election, a new Deseret News/KSL poll shows.
However, the race is fluid. Pollster Dan Jones & Associates found that a quarter of registered Salt Lake City voters hadn't made up their minds.And the question of a past business association of Corradini's - which has long dogged her - could resurface on Monday or Tuesday. A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered that Corradini's complete financial records, including her tax returns, be made public Monday afternoon.
What, if any, effect that could have on voters remains to be seen.
Jones found in a survey completed late last week that a third of voters said they preferred Corradini, 19 percent liked Harmsen and 15 percent liked McKeown. Seven percent mentioned one of the other candidates, while 25 percent were still undecided.
Jones guesses that between 15 percent and 20 percent of city residents will actually cast ballots Tuesday. To get a better feel for the preferences of likely voters, Jones asked the 429 registered voters polled to rank their interest in the election. Among those who said their interest is high - and thus more likely to actually vote Tuesday - Jones found that 31 percent favored Corradini, 23 percent favored Harmsen and 23 percent favored McKeown.
The top two vote-getters will advance to the final election, so if Corradini holds her lead the real race for second is between Harmsen, a Republican and former city commissioner, and McKeown, a Democratic attorney new to elective politics.
"Interest in the primary grew each night we polled," said Jones. "But a 25 percent undecided this late in a campaign is very high." Jones said it appears Corradini should come out first Tuesday, "but it is really a tossup between Harmsen and McKeown" for second place. "Harmsen gets most of the Republican vote, while Corradini and McKeown split the Democratic and independent voters, with Deedee getting a few more" of each, said Jones.
The Deseret News and KSL-TV also asked how Bonneville Pacific's problems affect voters' views of Corradini. Corradini received free vacations and loans from a subsidiary of the failed energy company. While five principals in the firm have been indicted by a federal grand jury, Corradini has not been indicted. She and her husband, Yan Ross, have paid Bonneville Pacific stockholders nearly $800,000 to stay out of a civil lawsuit involving the firm. Corradini says she was a victim of the fraud, not a participant in it.
Jones found that 39 percent of city voters said that news stories about Corradini's involvement with the firm have led them toward a more negative view of the mayor; 23 percent said the stories led them to a much more negative view of her. A third said the stories had no impact on their opinion of her.
While those numbers aren't good news for the mayor, her job approval rating is. Jones found that 58 percent of city residents approve of the job she's done as mayor; 36 percent disapprove of her job performance.
Considering that nearly 60 percent give Corradini a good job approval rating, something is clearly happening, considering that only a third of the same people told Jones they'd vote for her in Tuesday's primary. As nearly two-thirds of those polled said news stories on Bonneville Pacific led them to a more negative view of the mayor, it seems that Corradini still has public perception problems concerning her involvement with the failed company.
Finally, Jones asked city voters if they think Corradini should release her recent tax returns. For some time, Bonneville Pacific watchers have speculated that if Corradini didn't have direct involvement in managing the company, she could still have legal problems if she didn't claim free trips and loans as income on her federal tax returns.
Jones polled the 429 respondents before Federal Bankruptcy Judge John Allen ruled on Friday that Corradini and Ross must release returns that were part of the court's investigation into Bonneville Pacific.
Sixty-four percent of those questioned said Corradini should release her returns. Only 29 percent said she shouldn't. Even 44 percent of the people who said they planned to vote for Corradini on Tuesday said she should release her tax returns.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Deseret News/KSL poll
If the election for mayor of Salt Lake City were held today, whom would you vote for?
DEEDEE CORRADINI 33%
STEVE HARMSEN 19%
RICH McKEOWN 15%
DONALD R. GREEN 2%
LAWRENCE TOPHAM 0%
JOSEPH IRISH 0%
NELSON GONZALEZ 2%
KEN LARSEN 2%
OTHER 1%
UNDECIDED 25%
WON'T BE VOTING 2%
Poll conducted Sept. 26-27, 1995. Margin of error +/-5% on interviews of 429 adults in Salt Lake City. Conducted by Dan Jones & Associates. Copyright 1995 Deseret News.
Deseret News/KSL poll
Do you approve or disapprove of the job performance of Mayor Deedee Corradini?
APPROVE 58%
DISAPPROVE 36%
DON'T KNOW 5%
Have stories in the media about Bonneville Pacific had an impact on your opinion of the mayor?
NO IMPACT 33%
SOMEWHAT NEGATIVE 39%
MUCH MORE NEGATIVE 23%
DON'T KNOW 5%
Do you think Corradini should release her tax returns?
SHOULD 64%
SHOULD NOT 29%
DON'T KNOW 8%
Poll conducted Sept. 26-27, 1995. Margin of error +/-5% on interviews of 429 adults in Salt Lake City. Conducted by Dan Jones & Associates. Copyright 1995 Deseret News.