Another survey released today by Quinnipiac University in Hamden found voters are split, with 44 percent saying Rowland should go, and 45 percent saying he sound stay.

UConn's Center for Survey Research also found that 75 percent say it's too soon for the General Assembly to decide whether to impeach Rowland, since a federal corruption investigation into the administration has not concluded.

"Needless to say, admissions of political corruption don't play well with citizens, and so it's not so surprising that a majority of residents feel the governor should resign," UConn poll director Kenneth Dautrich said.

"Governor Rowland has lost the trust of Connecticut voters as only 18 percent say he is honest," Douglas Schwartz, director of Quinnipiac's polling institute, said today.

Democratic State Chairman George C. Jepsen said the results are surprisingly bad for Rowland, noting this controversy is only the latest of many for the administration.

"People have built up a significant reservoir of distrust for the governor," he said. "They could smell that something is very wrong. And I think Friday's announcement was a trigger event."

Rowland disclosed Friday that employees of New Britain-based Tomasso Group, along with members of his administration, helped pay for or arrange renovations to his summer cottage. Rowland, who had insisted 10 days earlier he paid for all the work, apologized in a written statement for providing "incorrect and incomplete" information.

The governor has denied he broke the law, saying those who provided him with gifts did not receive any benefit in return.

Rowland's chief of staff, Dean C. Pagani, said Tuesday night that "the governor does not intend to resign. The fact that most people think it's not a good idea to proceed with any kind of impeachment shows they understand that all the facts aren't on the table."

The UConn poll also found 37 percent of residents say Rowland should not resign and just 22 percent want impeachment proceedings to begin now.

"While a majority would prefer to see Rowland voluntarily step aside, at least for now they also seem willing to give him a chance," Dautrich said. "Most people want the investigation to conclude before the legislature begins to discuss impeachment and removal."

But the UConn poll also found that 74 percent believe there is more information about the cottage scandal that Rowland has not revealed, compared with 12 percent who believe the governor's statement that he has nothing else to disclose.

In a similar finding, Quinnipiac reported that 73 percent of voters say Rowland is not trustworthy, compared with 18 percent who say he is.

Democratic state legislative leaders have questioned whether Rowland can continue to be effective and said Monday that the governor must act immediately to try to repair a huge breach in trust.

Those polled by UConn were split down the middle on that question.

The poll found 49 percent said that Rowland now will be "not too" effective or "not at all" effective because of the scandal. Another 49 percent said he still could be "very" or "somewhat" effective.

A handful of Democratic state lawmakers have suggested that Rowland resign or that impeachment proceedings begin.

Republican leaders in the General Assembly have said they believe Rowland's statement that there is nothing further to disclose about the cottage scandal. They also have said that unless the federal investigation turns up something new, they accept Rowland's apology and believe state government should move past the matter.

But the UConn poll found that 52 percent of residents believe Republican leaders should be trying to encourage Rowland to resign, while 39 percent believe they should not.

The UConn survey produced similar numbers on the question of partisan politics, with 52 percent saying Democrats were justified in calling for Rowland to step down, and 43 percent saying those calls were motivated by politics.

According to UConn, Connecticut's residents have been following the scandal. The poll found 53 percent have read or heard "a lot" about this issue, and 27 percent had read or heard "some."

The Quinnipiac poll found 72 percent have followed the scandal to some degree, compared with 27 percent who have paid little or no attention.

When asked by UConn to characterize the governor's actions, 30 percent said they amounted to criminal wrongdoing, 58 percent called them unethical but not criminal, and 6 percent said they were neither.

UConn surveyed 645 state residents by telephone Monday and Tuesday. The poll has a 3.8 percent margin of error.

Unlike UConn, Quinnipiac directed its questions specifically to voters. The polling institute surveyed 869 voters by telephone on Monday and Tuesday. That poll has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.