Whitehorse residents were more likely to rate the actions of Mayor Ernie Bourassa as good, or four-out-of-five on a five-point-scale, compared to ratings seen in the past year, says a recent poll.

In the winter of 2003, 21 per cent of residents gave the mayor a high rating, says a press release issued this morning regarding the results of a poll conducted by DataPath Systems of Marsh Lake.

Support for Bourassa rose to 30 per cent in May 2003, and has now reached 36 per cent.

While there were no significant differences between how men and women rated the mayor, there is a difference based on age, the poll indicated.

The younger the resident, the more likely he or she was to give positive ratings of the mayor.

Among those under the age of 36, 50 per cent gave Bourassa high positive scores. This dropped to 33 per cent among those 36 to 55 and down to 26 per cent for those over the age of 50.

'Our May survey found that 80 per cent of those aware of a proposed smoking ban supported it,' said Donna Larsen, partner at DataPath Systems.

'The implementation of this policy may be one of the factors driving the popularity of the mayor.'

Support for the city council, however, has not increased over the same.

High rating scores had climbed in the summer of 2003 to 27 per cent, up from 13 per cent in the winter of 2003. They have dropped to 18 per cent this winter, according to the poll.

The main issues in the city continue to centre on the economy, with 16 per cent rating it as top priority while nine per cent rated jobs as the number one issue in Whitehorse.

Other issues of importance to residents were: crime, 10 per cent; land use, seven per cent; education, seven per cent; and roads, seven per cent.

Less-mentioned concerns included good government, the environment and wildlife, loose dogs and snow removal.

Men tended to focus more on the economy and jobs, while women were more likely to mention social issues such as housing and alcohol- and drug-related issues.

DataPath Systems is an independent Yukon-based market research company. Telephone surveys were conducted with 150 Whitehorse residents and 150 non-Whitehorse residents between Jan. 15 and Feb. 8.

The data are weighted to accurately represent Yukoners based on the community they live in, their age and gender.

The company maintains the percentages are statistically valid to plus or minus five per cent, 19 times out of 20 (95 per cent confidence).

This was a non-commissioned study, paid for by DataPath Systems.