Political Capitol

The Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday had some interesting statistics on a couple of hot legislative topics here at the capitol.

By a 56 to 40 margin, voters oppose returning tolls to state highways as a source of revenue.

But voters by nearly the same margin – 56 to 39 – want to be able to buy booze on Sundays at liquor stores (they are against letting supermarkets that are already allowed to sell beer to also stock wine and liquor).

State Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, has been using his position as co-chairman of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to revive tolls, and a bill supporting his efforts passed out of committee Monday.

I asked Guerrera if the results of this week’s Q-Poll have given him second thoughts.

“We’re up five or six percent from last year,” Guerrera said, referring to a March 10, 2009 Q-Poll that found voters opposed tolls by a 61 to 35 percent margin.

“You have to look at how the question’s asked, too,” Guerrera said.

Quinnipiac asked voters simply “do you support or oppose putting tolls on state highways in Connecticut?”

“If we asked ‘would you support tolls if we reduced the gas tax by 50 percent and had a Constitutional amendment to say that would be used for roads and bridges?’ that number would be a lot higher,” Guerrera said.

Just as Guerrera is closely associated with tolls, Sen. Thomas Colapietro, D-Bristol, a General Law Committee chairman, is viewed as one of the key players in preventing his legislative colleagues from overturning Connecticut’s so-called blue law banning liquor stores from opening on Sundays.

I similarly asked Colapietro if the Q-Poll had shaken his resolve.

“Polls are totally unfair,” Colapietro said, arguing, like Guerrera, that it is all about how the question is worded. If Quinnipiac asked voters if they wanted to be allowed to purchase alcohol on Sundays if it meant driving some smaller stores out of business, he is pretty certain the poll results would be different.

“I just don’t think the average person would be so selfish,” Colapietro said.

The percentage of voters who want the option of purchasing booze on Sundays increased from last year, when Q-Poll respondents backed the idea by a margin of 54 to 44.

Thursday’s Q-Poll also did not bode well for Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s renewed effort to introduce Keno, an electronic bingo-style gambling game, t0 the state to help raise revenues. Voters oppose Keno by a 58 to 39 margin, up from 2009′s 52 to 45 margin.

I approached the Governor’s office for a response and received the following statement: