Poll: 72 Percent of Troy Voters Would Support Recalling Mayor Daniels

Nearly three-quarters of Troy voters would support recalling Mayor Janice Daniels from office, according to a poll released Friday by a Lansing-based consulting firm.

The poll, conducted by Main Street Strategies and commissioned by the website Michigan Liberal, suggests that 72 percent of voters want to oust Daniels.

“Mayor Daniels has given the voters of Troy the biggest case of buyer’s remorse I have ever seen,” Main Street Strategies consultant Joe DiSano said in a press release. "Mayor Daniels’ Tea Party agenda has polarized the voters of Troy. Her repeated attacks on gays have badly damaged her public standing and voters clearly regret supporting her last fall."

Daniels has received public criticism for anti-gay comments she made on her Facebook page in 2011. She was also bashed for her in which she expressed opposition to the and slammed City Manager John Szerlag, saying she had no confidence in his ability to perform his duties. rebutting several statements the mayor made in her paper. Daniels has also .  

Councilman Wade Fleming said Friday he was remaining nuetral in the public's opposition to the mayor and that a recall is in the voters' hands.

"I wouldn’t put a lot of confidence in polls," Fleming said. "I put my confidence in the voters, if they decide they want to elect someone else or recall her."

Daniels did not return a phone call from the Troy Patch on Friday.

The Main Street Strategies poll results are based on 599 automated telephone interviews of voters who participated in the November election. The voters were surveyed Thursday evening.  

Several Troy Patch readers have engaged in coversation about the poll on the Facebook Page.

"I really hope this becomes a wake-up call to the city, if it isn't one already," Jonathan Barr wrote. "Voting matters."

"Unfortunately, we must wait six months from the date of her election to begin a recall," Barbara Koehn wrote. "I don't believe she will resign, I don't believe she thinks she is doing the city harm and further more, I was not contacted for the poll, but I would have voted for a recall."