Poll shows support for Connecticut governor eroding
GOP backs bipartisan investigation panel
ASSOCIATED PRESS


HARTFORD, Conn., Jan. 11 — Support for Gov. John G. Rowland continues to erode, a new poll released Monday indicates. The University of Connecticut poll found 63 percent of state residents think Rowland should resign for taking gifts for his summer house from subordinates and a contractor and lying about it. A similar poll taken last week put the number at 58 percent.

The new poll finds 56 percent of residents support an impeachment, compared with 50 percent last week.
''Public opinion about Rowland continues to spiral downward,'' said UConn poll director Ken Dautrich.
Rowland has admitted accepting gifts from several politically appointed state employees, including a former aide, Lawrence Alibozek, who has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he took bribes to steer state contracts. He also accepted work for his cottage from the Tomasso Group, a New Britain contractor at the center of a federal investigation into corruption in Rowland's administration.
Federal agents say Rowland is now a subject of their probe.
Republican state senators have unanimously backed a proposal by House Republicans that would convene a bipartisan committee to investigate the scandal. Such a committee would be a step shy of starting the impeachment process, as some Democrats want. The final decision on which option to take is up to the speaker of the House, Rep. Moira Lyons, a Democrat.
''The governor, like any private citizen accused of wrongdoing, is entitled to due process and a thorough investigation of the facts,'' Senate Republican Leader Louis C. DeLuca said Sunday. The Republican senators did not ask for the three-term governor to resign.
State Senate Democrats as a group have already called on the governor to resign and said they would support beginning impeachment proceedings.
Dean Pagani, Rowland's chief of staff, said Sunday that if an investigative committee is formed, the governor hopes the process will be fair.
The poll released Monday questioned Connecticut residents by telephone from Thursday to Sunday. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Almost three-quarters of Democrats, two-thirds of independents and 40 percent of Republicans think the governor should go, the poll found.
If impeached in the House, Rowland would stand trial in the Senate, which has 21 Democrats and 15 Republicans. A two-thirds majority would be required to remove him from office.
Rowland's office said the governor has no plans to step down from two advisory panels to the Bush administration. He serves on the White House Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations and a homeland security committee of state and local officials.
Rowland will also continue to serve as state chairman of President Bush's re-election campaign. That position is bestowed upon the highest-ranking Republican in the state.                                                  top of page