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Poll: New Yorkers On The Fence When It Comes To Cuomo

WAMC composite photo by Dave Lucas

New Yorkers are split on how well their governor is doing , but, when it comes down to issues, clear majorities emerge.

A new Siena College pollshows citizens haven't budged: half of all New Yorkers still see Governor Andrew Cuomo in a favorable light.  Siena pollster Steve Greenberg: "Governor Andrew Cuomo right now is viewed favorably by half of New York voters, 50 percent. He's viewed unfavorably by 42 percent.  That is identical to his favorability ratings for September. Completely unchanged. 50 to 42 percent.  It seems that Governor Cuomo has reached a new plateau over the last several months. His favorability ratings have hovered around 50. His unfavorability ratings have hovered in the low 40s."

The governor's performance rating has also been staying the course: 41 percent of those polled continue to believe the second-term Democrat has been doing a fair or excellent job, 58 percent rate his job performance as "fair or poor."  Greenberg says the numbers have remained consistent over the last several months, prompting a tweak to the survey:   "What Siena did this month is we asked voters how they think Cuomo is doing his job on a variety of specific issues. So, on an issue like improving New York's economy, only 35 percent of New Yorkers give him a positive job performance rating, compared to 63 percent who give him a negative job performance rating. When it comes to reducing corruption in state government, 23 percent of New Yorkers, fewer than a quarter, give him a positive job performance rating, compared to more than two-thirds, 69 percent, who give him a negative job performance rating. He gets a 68 percent negative job performance rating on improving the quality of public education in New York. He gets a 64 percent negative job performance rating on balancing the needs of both upstate and downstate."

The poll shows New Yorkers by 59-33 percent support the gun control law the SAFE Act; by 62 percent to 35 percent, voters support Cuomo’s proposed minimum wage hike to $15 an hour; Common Core is another story: the issue has dogged the governor since its introduction.

Last month Cuomo announced a newly appointed education commission to address problems with Common Core.   "As a parent, I believe our education system tests our students too often, and for too long. And we should relive the unnecessary pressure on our children that detracts from the time spent learning. There is no doubt that tests or assessments have a role in education. I understand that. But I think the number of tests should be reduced."

Greenberg says New Yorkers haven't changed their minds: they're unhappy with Common Core.   "Only 21 percent of voters say that the Common Core standards have improved public education in New York. Nearly twice that number, 40 percent, say that Common Core has worsened public education in New York. Another 21 percent say it’s had no impact."

Here's a look at some of the other issues addressed in the Siena Survey:

  • Plurality of Voters Now Say State is Headed on the Right Track

“For the first time since April, more voters, 46 percent, say the state is on the right track, compared to 39 percent who say the state is headed in the wrong direction. Last month, wrong direction led 49-41 percent, a net 15-point improvement in how New Yorkers view the direction of the state,” Greenberg said. “New York City voters are most optimistic, with 52 percent saying the state is on the right track. However, upstate voters moved the most on this question since last month and are now closely divided on this question, while downstate suburbanites are evenly divided.  Both non-New York City regions were very negative about the state’s direction last month.”

  • One Year from Election Day, Views on Schumer Favorability, Re-election Little Changed

“Senator Chuck Schumer has a nearly two-to-one favorability rating, 58-30 percent, little changed from last month’s 61-29 percent,” Greenberg said. “Little changed too is voters’ opinion on his re-election. With no current opponent, 49 percent say they are prepared to re-elect Schumer, while 38 percent say they would prefer ‘someone else.’ Strong majorities of Democrats and New York City say re-elect the Senate Democratic leader-in-waiting.”

  • ConCon Vote Remains Mystery for Vast Majority; Support for ConCon Weakens, Still Strong

“More than 70 percent say they have heard nothing at all about the 2017 vote on whether New York should hold a Constitutional Convention, comparable to July’s Siena College Poll finding,” Greenberg said. “However, while support for a ConCon remains very strong, 60-25 percent, it is down from July when support was 69-15 percent.”
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The Siena College Poll was conducted October 18-22, 2015 by telephone calls conducted in English to 806 New York State registered voters. Respondent sampling was initiated by asking for the youngest male in the household.  It has an overall margin of error of +/- 4.0 percentage points including the design effects resulting from weighting. Sampling was conducted via a stratified dual frame probability sample provided by Survey Sampling International of landline and cell phone telephone numbers from within New York State weighted to reflect known population patterns. Data was statistically adjusted by age, party, region and gender to ensure representativeness.  The Siena College Research Institute, directed by Donald Levy, Ph.D., conducts political, economic, social and cultural research primarily in NYS.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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