TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Crist's Job Approval Slips; Marriage Act Has Support

ADVERTISEMENT

By CATHERINE WHITTENBURG | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 28, 2008

Updated: 08/28/2008 12:18 pm

TALLAHASSEE - A majority of people -- 57 percent -- think Gov. Charlie Crist is doing a good job, but that's down from 61 percent who thought the same thing less than a year ago.

Crist's job rating by residents continues to slip from a high of 70 percent in June 2007, primarily among Democrats, according to survey results released this morning by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research. A November poll showed Crist's rating at 61 percent.

Republicans actually have warmed to Crist the past year. Within his own party, his performance rating has increased from 63 percent to 71 percent. It has fallen among Democrats from 58 percent to 47 percent and among Independents from 62 percent to 49 percent.

Among the issues that might be influencing those numbers: Crist's turnabout stance on oil drilling. Once a staunch opponent of allowing oil rigs off Florida's coast, Crist changed his position this summer when gas prices were exceeding $4 per gallon, saying that he agreed with Sen. John McCain's proposal to lift the federal ban and leave the decision to the states.

The Mason-Dixon poll shows a majority of Florida voters, 61 percent, support oil drilling off Florida. Support comes disproportionately from Republicans, 86 percent of whom approve of the idea. Fifty-one percent of Democrats oppose it.

Strong Support For Anti-Gay Marriage Proposal

Backers of Amendment 2, the Florida Marriage Protection Act, are within sight of victory, the poll shows. Statewide, 57 percent of voters support the proposal to refuse legal recognition of gay marriage. Thirty-six percent say they oppose the amendment, and 7 percent are undecided.

As the ballot summary of the proposal states, it "protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and provides that no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized." Of those polled, Republicans show the most support for the amendment – 77 percent – and 53 percent of Democrats oppose it. Ballot amendments must garner 60 percent approval from voters to become law.

Many Undecided On Tax Amendment

It remains far less clear how Amendment 5, the so-called tax-swap plan on the ballot, will fare on Election Day. Statewide, 39 percent say they would vote for it; 33 percent say they will vote no; and 28 percent are undecided.

By far the most complex proposal on the ballot, Amendment 5 will have to pass muster with the state Supreme Court before it can reach the ballot. Several education and business groups have challenged the constitutionality of the plan and await a final decision by the high court. Wednesday, the court announced it would expedite the case by hearing arguments Sept. 3 instead of Sept. 8.

If passed, Amendment 5 would wipe out roughly 25 percent to 40 percent of property taxes by eliminating the portion the state mandates to pay for public schools. Lawmakers would have to find alternative sources of revenue -- as much as $11 billion -- for schools for one year. After that, it would be up to them to decide how much the state would contribute to schools and how.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit argue that the ballot question is misleading because it doesn't stipulate that education would be guaranteed replacement revenue for only one year. The state and former Senate President John McKay, architect of the plan, counter that the ballot language is not misleading because it does not say the replacement revenue would be permanent. A circuit court judge in Leon County sided with plaintiffs before the case moved on to the Supreme Court, where a final decision is pending.

Mason-Dixon conducted the poll of 625 registered Florida voters by telephone Monday and Tuesday. All respondents said they are likely to vote in November.

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or cdolinski@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT