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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Voters are divided on whether Rocky Anderson should serve a third term as mayor and Anderson isn't sure either.
A poll conducted by Valley Research for The Salt Lake Tribune and reported in a copyright story Monday found 43 percent of the 400 Salt Lake City residents surveyed said they would vote for Anderson if he ran for a third term in 2007, and 41 percent said they would not. The remaining 16 percent did not know or declined to comment. The margin of error was plus or minus 5 percent.
The poll also found Anderson's approval rating changed little from previous surveys. His performance was rated excellent by 17 percent and good by 36 percent for 53 percent approval. He was rated fair by 19 percent and poor by 17 percent.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were more likely to rate his job performance as "poor" or "fair," with only 19 percent saying they would vote for him in 2007.
Anderson said he fares poorly among Mormons because of changes he seeks in state liquor laws, his advocacy of equal rights for gays and his initial refusal to go along with the city's sale of one block of Main Street to the Mormon church. He later was involved in the deal that settled the issue.
The mayor said he is troubled at being seen as "anti-Mormon."
"It's not at all who I am," he said. "I took the religious and ethical teachings from the time I was a child, much of it within the context of my LDS upbringing, very seriously and believe that the way I've led my life has been driven in large part by those teachings."
Anderson, who has not decided whether he will run again, is confident he would win a third term. He said many residents believe the city has gained stature in the national and international community because of his administration's work.
He has encouraged former City Councilman Keith Christensen to run for mayor. Christensen, a Republican, said he is leaning toward running.
Anderson said that if Christensen does not run, he would be "far more likely" to seek a third term.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
