With two weeks left before the referendum to raise the
St. Paul sales tax a half-percent to help build a ballpark
in the city, "fewer than one in three voters say they'll
vote `yes,'" according to Aron Kahn of the ST. PAUL PIONEER
PRESS, who cites a poll of 404 registered voters conducted
last week by MN Public Radio and KARE-NBC. In the poll, 56%
said they would vote against the ballpark tax, 30% said they
supported the plan and 14% were undecided. In a similar
survey conducted in June, 62% were opposed to the tax, 33%
favored the proposal and 5% were undecided. Kahn notes the
increase in the number of voters who are undecided and
writes that it represents a "shift that could provide a
glimmer of hope for [St. Paul Mayor Norm] Coleman's ballpark
brigade." Meanwhile, "most respondents said their opinion
isn't affected by who owns the team," as "just" 15% are more
likely to vote yes with Twins Owner Carl Pohlad selling the
team. In the previous poll, 23% said they would be more
likely to support the referendum with Pohlad gone. The poll
has a margin of error of +/- 5% (PIONEER PRESS, 10/19).
Also in St. Paul, Charley Walters estimates a low turnout on
November 2, which "has stadium proponents feeling pretty
good" about its chances for passing (PIONEER PRESS, 10/19).
DO ST. PAUL VOTERS WANT A RETURN TO NORMALCY? The poll
also found that the percentage of people in St. Paul who
approve of Coleman's job performance "has dropped
significantly" since he "geared up his campaign" for a Twins
ballpark in the city. The poll shows that 44% of
respondents rated Coleman's performance as excellent or
good, compared with 60% in the June poll. Though the voters
were not asked what "major issues were involved" in their
ranking, political observers "indicated it's likely the
stadium issue played a part" (PIONEER PRESS, 10/19).
