Oct. 23, 2006 — John deJongh continues to lead the governor's race, according to a recent poll, but the gubernatorial debates don't appear to have made a large impact on voters.
People tended to vote their favorite candidate or 'dont know,' and it would appear that there were no clear cut winners or losers in the debates, said John Boyd, a St. Croix pollster whose staff spoke by phone with 608 people throughout the territory over the last two weeks, through Oct. 19. Boyd divided the poll results by region, with separate results for St. Croix and the St. Thomas-St. John area.
The apparent front runners, deJongh and his running mate, Gregory Francis, took a big jump on St. Croix from Boyd's previous poll in late September, with the candidates' support rising from 46 to 53 percent. For St. Thomas, the deJongh-Francis team held steady at 57 percent. Undecided voters accounted for 18 percent in both areas, while the other candidate teams continue to hover in the low double digits. For St. Croix, Kenneth Mapp and former Sen. Almando "Rocky" Liburd claimed 15 percent, compared to 6 percent on St. Thomas. The third set of gubernatorial candidates, Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Cora Christian, showed 14 percent support on St. Croix and 18 percent on St. Thomas.
St. Croix — St. Thomas
53 — 57 — DeJongh & Francis
15 — 6 — Mapp & Liburd
14 — 18 — Donastorg & Christian
18 — 18 — Undecided
While I believe that deJongh is ahead in this race, there is still two weeks to go, Boyd said. Unless there is a big mistake, I do not believe that personal attacks or vicious debates will alter the results so long as the voters go out to vote.
Boyd says he sees that kind of negativity coming from Donastorg.
Of all the candidates, Sen. Donastorg was the most vitriolic toward the last poll results, Boyd said. While local business people commissioned his previous poll, Boyd says he conducted the most recent one for himself. It was done by me and paid for by me.
Boyd's staff asked respondents one particularly pointed question about Donastorg: Is it an issue that Sen. Donastorg claims to have a diploma from a non-accredited degree mill?
According to Donastorg's website, the senator studied business management at Fullerton College, Mount St. Antonio College and the University of the Virgin Islands. He received a B.S. Degree in Business Administration from Madison University. He maintains that education should be a lifelong process and is currently pursuing other degrees online with the University of Phoenix.
Boyd insists that Madison University is a degree mill. According to its website, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in Washington, D.C., defines degree mills as dubious providers of educational offerings or operations that offer certificates and degrees that may be considered bogus. The CHEA site makes no specific judgments about Madison University or any other school: Nothing on this website shall be deemed to state a conclusion by CHEA as to whether a particular entity is or is not a degree mill or an accreditation mill.
Donastorg could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
The challenge to Donastorg's academic credentials came in response to the senator's criticism of his last poll, Boyd said.
I figured I'd play back, he said. I asked the question just to jerk the good senator around.
Respondents showed little interest in the issue, according to Boyd's poll results. An overwhelming majority in both areas said no when asked whether Donastorg's academic credentials were an issue:
St. Croix — St. Thomas
20 — 19 — Yes
71 — 81 — No
8 — 0 — Undecided
Boyd's staff got similar results when they asked about the impact of polls themselves. Less than 50 percent of respondents in both areas said they trusted polls, while a large majority said no when asked, Do you think the published poll results influenced your personal decisions?
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