Poll: St. Pete’s headed in the right direction and residents like Rick Kriseman

St. Petersburg, Florida

Two years into his final term in office, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman’s citywide approval rating is strong, according to a new poll by SEA Polling and Strategic Design.

Of the 350 residents polled, 70 percent rated Kriseman’s job performance positively with only 26 percent giving him negative marks. The poll also gave Kriseman a 75 percent positive rating compared to 21 percent negative.

Those approval ratings are up from two years ago when he was running for re-election. In June of 2017 Kriseman’s approval rating was just 65 percent. He in the midst of a heated campaign against former Mayor Rick Baker in which negative ads were hammering his reputation.

Kriseman has about two years left in office. At the half-way point in his second term, most residents think the city is headed in the right direction, according to the poll. Sixty-two percent indicated the city was on the right track while 14 percent said it was headed in the wrong direction.

That’s up four points from the 2017 poll asking the same question.

The poll also asked about residents’ opinions on the city’s Complete Streets program. Nearly 70 percent of respondents supported it and 38 percent said they strongly support it. Only 27 percent opposed such projects.

Some businesses along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. north of downtown have been critical of the city’s initiative, which resulted in a lane loss along the busy corridor to make room for protected bike lanes. The poll indicates those sentiments are in the minority throughout the city.

Respondents affordable housing, aging infrastructure, crime and gun violence, climate change, traffic and transit as their top issues. Affordable housing topped that list with 24 percent listing it as their biggest concern and 40 percent listing it as a concern among others.

Transit was at the bottom of the list with ten percent listing it as their top concern.

The poll was conducted from April 9-11 by live telephone operators using 40 percent cell phone lines. It has a 5.2 percent margin of error.

Kriseman’s political committee, Sunrise PAC, commissioned the poll.