TV station's results - 44% Driscoll, 43% Mahoney - are statistical dead heat.
By Frederic Pierce
Staff writer
A new poll for a Syracuse television station shows the city's mayoral race remains a dead heat, even as large numbers of undecided voters appear to be making up their minds.
The poll of 625 likely city voters, done for WTVH-TV (Channel 5) by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research on Tuesday and Wednesday, shows Democratic Mayor Matt Driscoll in front of Republican challenger Joanie Mahoney by 1 percentage point.
The survey found 44 percent of the people contacted said they would vote for Driscoll, 43 percent said they would vote for Mahoney and 5 percent would vote for Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins.
The poll had a 4 percent margin of error.
The poll confirms the results of a Post-Standard survey done by Zogby International on Oct. 14 and 15, and one done for television and radio station WSYR by Critical Mass Media on Oct. 22 and 23. Both polls showed the candidates in statistical ties. The Post-Standard survey showed Driscoll had a slight lead, and the WSYR survey gave a tiny edge to Mahoney.
The number of undecided voters in Syracuse, however, appears to have dropped dramatically since the middle of last month, breaking about evenly for Driscoll and Mahoney.
Nearly 20 percent of the 509 likely voters contacted by Zogby in mid-October said they were undecided about who they would elect as mayor. The WTVH poll this week found that only 8 percent of the voters said they still hadn't decided.
"I'm thrilled and energized by this poll. Our message is clearly resonating with voters," Mahoney said Thursday. "Every single poll we've seen, we have increased the number of voters that are on our team, and I'm confident that if the election were held today that we would be the winner."
Driscoll has refused to comment on any of the polls, saying his focus remains on continuing to bring his message to people in preparation for the only poll that counts: Election Day.
The survey also asked voters about how they felt on a range of issues, including the city's economy and Destiny USA. When asked about the economy, 71 percent said it was either stagnant or declining.
Voters were split on whether they supported the Destiny project, with 45 percent favoring it, and 36 percent opposing it. The remaining 19 percent were undecided.
When respondents were asked whether the city should issue the bonds needed for the project or risk delaying or killing it, half of them said the bonds shouldn't be issued. Twenty-three percent said the bonds should be issued, and 27 percent said they were not sure.
Staff writer John Mariani contributed to this report
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© 2005 The Post-Standard. Used with permission.