This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rocky Anderson is as loved - and hated - as ever.
With three months left in his eight-year tenure as Salt Lake City's mayor, Anderson continues to draw high marks from an expanding and adoring fan base, but the steadfast minority of his most-devoted detractors has swelled as well.
In a Salt Lake Tribune poll conducted earlier this month, 54 percent of Salt Lakers rate Anderson's performance as "good" or "excellent." That's virtually the same tally as the 53 percent approval he received in January 2006, the last time The Tribune asked residents to score Anderson.
But the numbers at the extremes have grown. More than a quarter (26 percent) rate the mayor's performance as "poor," up from 17 percent in the earlier survey. And 25 percent now say mayor is doing an "excellent" job, compared with 17 percent last year.
In addition, nearly half (45 percent) rate the mayor as only "fair" or "poor," up from 36 percent in 2006.
Fewer residents - a mere 1 percent - are undecided in the latest poll, which was conducted Sept. 5 and 6 by Washington-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research and has a 4 percent error margin.
"This is kind of the nature of Mayor Anderson's job. He tends to be fairly polarizing," said Matthew Burbank, chairman of the University of Utah's political science department. "Some people are very strong supporters, and some people really dislike him."
But Burbank notes Anderson's approval remains high.
"Having an approval rating over 50 percent is generally something that incumbents would appreciate" in an election, Burbank said.
Anderson isn't seeking a third term, but Burbank suggests the recent primary election inflated his negative scores.
Dave Buhler, a finalist against Ralph Becker in the fall mayoral finale, billed himself as "reasonable" and a "bridge builder" in contrast to Anderson's combative reputation.
"Even candidates that were more supportive [of Anderson], such as Becker or Jenny Wilson, also raised these questions about style and getting along with the City Council," Burbank said. "That was one of the messages that got out."
But Anderson doubts the 2007 mayoral campaign is hurting his grade. He said the 2006 poll, with a chunk of residents (10 percent) withholding a rating, was an anomaly.
"People all along have pretty much come down on one side or the other," he said.
Anderson has another explanation for his negative scores: His support always has lagged with LDS residents in Utah's increasingly liberal and non-Mormon capital.
In this month's poll, 73 percent of LDS respondents rate Anderson's performance as "poor" or "fair." Only 7 percent give him an "excellent" mark and 18 percent rate him as "good." Contrast that with a 77 percent approval rating (39 percent "excellent" and 38 percent "good") from non-LDS residents.
"That's attributable to the sort of us-and-them thinking that drives so many people politically," the mayor said. "Since I'm not a practicing member [of the LDS Church] and because I've advocated [for gay rights and liquor-law reforms] that drives a lot of LDS members into thinking that I'm somehow on the other side."
Anderson acknowledges taking controversial stands on major issues from demanding the impeachments of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to opposing abstinence-only sex education in Utah's public schools.
Since the 2006 poll, he also protested Bush and the Iraq war during the president's visit to an American Legion convention in Salt Lake City, decried the LDS Church's plans to build a sky bridge over Main Street, got in a tussle with a developer at City Hall and debated conservative Fox News star Sean Hannity before an explosive audience at Kingsbury Hall.
"When I speak out on some of these things, it offends a lot of LDS members," Anderson said. "I find that really unfortunate. . . . I think essential LDS and other religious teachings would compel anybody in a leadership position to speak out against an utterly tragic and immoral war."
Elizabeth Gurney, an Avenues resident who participated in the poll, gave Anderson an "excellent" rating.
"I am a real Rocky fan. I like his emphasis on saving our environment by working locally on things we can actually tackle," said Gurney, a retired University of Utah biology professor. "He's represented our city very well."
But downtown dweller Jennifer Strassburg said the Mayor's Office has disintegrated into a "bully pulpit." She lamented Anderson's public protests of Bush.
"The dignity of Salt Lake deserves someone who can separate personal beliefs from [the] public agenda," said the retired music teacher. "He's a very complicated person to rate. I probably said 'poor.' "