In the March UNO poll, registered voters in Jefferson Parish continue to express their disapproval of Mike Yenni in his capacity as parish president. Only 29 percent of respondents in both polls gave him positive marks for his job performance. His disapproval numbers have dipped slightly since UNO last asked Jefferson Parish registered voters to evaluate his performance in office. There is a concurrent increase in the percentage of respondents not expressing an opinion on this question.
According to Ed Chervenak, political science professor at UNO:, "there is little change in attitudes toward Yenni by gender. Men are basically of the same mind about Yenni in the March poll as they were in October. However, females are a bit less disapproving in the current poll than they were in October".
The survey found that 42 percent of the parish voters disapprove of Yenni's job performance, compared to 29% who approve. Another 29% are uncertain. In October the UNO poll also showed 46 percent disapproving with 25% approving and 25% in the "don't know" category.
Thus, Yenni, over the five month period has improved by four percentage points, all coming from the "undecided" or "don't know" category. The percentage of voters that disapprove have not budged.
Yenni's poor job performance numbers appear to be related a scandal involving allegations related to his prior relationship with a young man. The incident predated his being elected as parish president.
The poll also revealed that candidate for Jefferson Parish Sheriff, John Fortunato enjoys a sixteen point lead over the current acting Sheriff Joe Lopinto, 48-32 with 20 percent undecided. A prior October UNO poll revealed Fortunato leading 44 to Lopinto's 37 percent with a 19 point undecided. Thus, the margin has increased in Fortunato's favor from seven to sixteen percentage points over the five-month duration.
Here is the link to the University of New Orleans Survey Research poll