An expenses scandal that has plagued Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell in recent months appears to have wiped out any advantage she may have had as an incumbent, according to a Forum Research poll.
Out of 928 respondents who were polled on Sept. 27, only 17 per cent said they would vote for the mayor, compared to 42 per cent who said they would support rival candidate and former MPP Linda Jeffrey.
Fennell was tied with Coun. John Sanderson, who also only received 17 per cent support. About five per cent said they would support Hargy Randhawa. Other candidates Gurjit Grewal and Devinder Sangha were tied at three per cent. About 10 per cent of respondents said they were undecided.
More than half of those surveyed (55 per cent) said they believe Fennell should face criminal charges in relation to a forensic audit that revealed Fennell and her staff broke hundreds of spending rules over a seven-year period. About 63 per cent of respondents said they believe that Fennell should resign.
The poll also tracked how respondents felt about Fennell’s decision to sue Deloitte, the company that conducted the audit, over the controversial expenses report. About 67 per cent disapproved of the move and only 19 per cent approved of the lawsuit.
About one third of those who said they would support her also said they didn’t support her lawsuit against Deloitte.
The mayor’s approval rating, however, has improved slightly from last month. Only 72 per cent of respondents said they disapprove of Fennell compared to 79 per cent last month.
“The only reason I can see that Mayor Fennell’s ratings have improved a bit since last month is that they hit rock bottom then and bounced a bit,” Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research said in a written statement.
“This mayor’s race is Linda’ Jeffery’s to lose, but she’ll have difficult job as mayor knitting a sorely divided city back together.”
This poll is considered accurate plus or minus 3.2 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
