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Poll Finds Floridians Happy With Crist's Response To Storm

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 29, 2008

Updated: 08/29/2008 02:18 pm

TAMPA - A Mason-Dixon Polling & Research survey released today indicates Floridians have warm and fuzzy feelings about their government's ability to protect them when tropical storm winds blow.

The poll focused on Tropical Storm Fay, which meandered through Florida last week and dumped as much as 2 feet of water in some areas, causing flooding and several deaths.

The results of the telephone poll of 625 random registered voters Monday and Tuesday were released this morning.

Seventy-seven percent said they thought Gov. Charlie Crist did an "excellent" or "good" job dealing with the emergency, and 72 percent said their local emergency management officials did an "excellent" or "good" job.

Fifty-seven percent of people surveyed said they were affected by the storm. Members of this group were the most likely to give a thumbs-up to Crist and local officials. Nearly 80 percent gave Crist a positive rating, and 76 percent gave local officials high marks.

Tropical Storm Fay vexed Florida last week, slogging the length of the state, from Key West north, before turning west and lumbering through the Panhandle.

There was extensive flooding along the east coast, but the Tampa Bay region largely was spared.

The poll was done in four regions, covering most of the state, but more than half the sampling came from West Central Florida and South Florida.

The governor's performance rating on tropical storm is 20 points higher than his general job rating of 57 percent, according to the poll.

Poll questions about the storm were posed "because everyone was talking about it last week," said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research in Jacksonville.

The poll results regarding Crist's job approval rating were published this week, and the results presented today are taken from the same sampling of voters, Coker said.

The poll was good news for state officials.

"I think it's encouraging that people are getting our message," said Blair Heusdens, spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, this morning. "They are feeling good about what we are doing to prepare, and maybe it means they also are preparing."

The storm was eyed by Florida emergency management officials long before it set its sights on Florida, and Crist declared a state of emergency when Fay was south of Cuba. That action put the National Guard on call just as the storm headed toward Key West and Southwest Florida.

Counties across the state activated their emergency operations centers and readied shelters. Schools were closed, and many cities and counties shut down government offices.

Tropical storm and flood warnings were issued for most of the state, from the Keys north, including Citrus, Hernando and Levy counties north of the Tampa Bay area, while Fay ambled through the state.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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