Nashville's Mayor O'Connell keeps high approval following ice storm
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Mayor Freddie O'Connell maintains strong approval ratings in the wake of the catastrophic ice storm, according to a new poll of likely Nashville voters.
- The Nashville Electric Service, not so much.
Why it matters: The ice storm stood as a political test of city leadership. O'Connell, a first-term mayor likely to seek reelection next year, has consistently scored over 50% approval ratings in publicly available polls.
By the numbers: According to the new poll by the Republican political consulting firm Baker Group Strategies, 55% of voters approve of O'Connell's job performance, compared to 38% who disapprove.
- Looking ahead to next year's mayor's race, O'Connell shows high approval among Democrats (79% approval), Kamala Harris voters (77%), African-American voters (67%) and moderates (60%).
- Those numbers are relevant because Metro elections skew liberal.
Yes, but: The poll also quizzed voters specifically about the response to the ice storm. NES polled poorly, with 67% of respondents saying they were dissatisfied with the power utility's response.
- Just 30% were very satisfied with NES.
- Drilling down specifically into how O'Connell responded to the storm, 49% approved and 44% disapproved.
- 74% of the poll's respondents said they lost power at some point during the storm.
The intrigue: In perhaps the most straightforward measurement of who voters hold responsible for the extended power outage, 45% point the blame at NES compared to 15% at the city's Office of Emergency Management and just 9% blame O'Connell.
- O'Connell criticized NES for its slow rate of restoring power and its communications during the storm.
Threat level: In the wake of the ice storm, 50% of voters say the city is on the wrong track.
- That's a higher percentage than other countywide polls in the last year, but perhaps understandable considering the natural disaster that just hit Nashville.
Between the lines: The poll of 418 likely voters was conducted by live operators over the phone as well as by text messages from Feb. 9-12.