ATLANTA — Georgians spread the blame widely among state and local officials and agencies for the traffic problems developing during Tuesday’s snow storm, according to a survey released Thursday.
When the InsiderAdvantage/Morris News Poll asked who to blame, the biggest group, 28 percent, cited their “mayor or county officials.”
Next came the Georgia Department of Transportation with 20 percent, followed by Gov. Nathan Deal at 15 percent. Because the online poll was conducted statewide by OpinionSavvy, individual mayors weren’t listed by name.
Just 12 percent said weather forecasters had fallen down on the job.
Deal accepted his share of the blame when briefing reporters.
“We did not respond fast enough to avoid some of the consequences,” he said. “We will be much more cautious and aggressive in terms of taking action in advance of future situations.”
The Wednesday survey also asked the 434 Georgians chosen randomly to assess their approval of the governor’s handling of state response, just 34 percent approved while 41 percent disapproved. That left 12 percent with no opinion and a 4.6 percent margin of error.
With Deal facing primary and general-election challengers this year, the poll could reflect some problems for him. One of his GOP challengers, Dalton Mayor David Pennington, quickly attacked the governor for his performance, but Democrat Jason Carter has so far remained quiet.
InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery noted that more Republicans disapproved of Deal’s job than Democrats, 52-34, although he has generally enjoyed strong support from within his party in past polls.
While that may represent a new crack in his backing, the poll also showed continued weakness among two demographic groups that have always been less supportive.
“Deal’s numbers were most impacted among independent voters and women. (There was a substantial gender gap as to approval.) Independent and female voters are currently the biggest problem for his reelection, and Winter Storm Leon did not help with that issue,” Towery said.
Sixty percent of independents, and 46 percent of women disapproved of Deal’s response.
Sen. Hunter Hill, R-Smyrna, said it’s unfair to blame anyone, although he acknowledges some roads could have been salted sooner.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got a lot of drivers who aren’t experienced driving in these conditions,” he said, adding that having everyone hit the road at once compounded the problem since ordinarily the commuting period is spread over several hours.
Deal still has time before the May 20 primary and November general election to regain support. But it adds to his task, coming on the heels of outcry over changes to the State Health Benefit Plan that covers 650,000 teachers, state workers and retirees.
Follow Walter Jones on Twitter @MorrisNews and Facebook or contact him at walter.jones@morris.com and (404) 589-8424.
