February 17, 2010 - New Yorkers Like Mike A Lot, But A Little Less, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Back City Worker Wage Freeze To Balance Budget Word format New York City voters approve 61 - 30 percent of the job Mayor Michael Bloomberg is doing, his lowest score in almost five years, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This is down from a 67 - 26 percent approval rating in a September 24 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, and Mayor Bloomberg's lowest score since a 60 - 30 percent rating July 19, 2005. White voters approve of Mayor Bloomberg 69 - 24 percent, while black voters approve 52 - 35 percent and Hispanic voters approve 56 - 32 percent. The Mayor's approval ranges from 55 - 34 percent in Brooklyn to 70 - 22 percent in Manhattan. Approval ratings for other citywide leaders are: 44 - 28 percent for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, with 27 percent undecided; 44 - 11 percent for Comptroller John Liu, with 45 percent undecided; 37 - 13 percent for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, with 50 percent undecided; 39 - 40 percent for Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, with 21 percent undecided. "Incumbents in every state in which we poll are getting hammered by voters frustrated by a bad economy and other issues, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg felt some of that pain on Election Day. Fortunately for Mayor Mike, he started from a higher place and hasn't fallen very far," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The man who cruised through his second term with 70 percent approval ratings should be happy if he can stay above 60 percent in his third term. "For Mayor Mike, 60 is the new 70. "City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, beset by anti-incumbent fever and scandals in the Council, gets lackluster grades. And voters just don't know much about the two new guys, Comptroller John Liu and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. While 92 percent of New York City voters say the city's budget problems are "very serious" or "somewhat serious," they back President Barack Obama's plans to raise fees on banks 65 - 26 percent, rejecting Bloomberg's argument that higher fees will reduce tax revenue. Voters also back President Obama's plan to limit Wall Street bonuses 68 - 27 percent, again rejecting Bloomberg's argument that this also will reduce city tax revenue. New York City voters approve 72 - 25 percent of the job President Obama is doing. To balance the budget, 45 percent of voters say cut services while 43 percent say raise taxes. Asked to name which tax should be raised: 43 percent pick the sales tax; 24 percent select property tax; 22 percent cite the income tax. By wide margins, voters oppose most ideas for service cuts to balance the budget: 84 - 12 percent against closing some senior centers; 85 - 12 percent against closing some fire houses; 74 - 24 percent against reducing garbage collections; 75 - 22 percent against increasing public school class sizes; 57 - 41 percent against reducing library hours; 54 - 44 percent against reducing street cleaning. New York City voters oppose 63 - 32 percent city worker layoffs to balance the budget, but they support 50 - 34 percent furloughs for city workers. And by a large 63 - 31 percent margin, voters support a wage freeze for city workers. Support for a wage freeze ranges from 60 - 35 percent among Democrats to 70 - 25 percent among independent voters to 72 - 21 percent among Republicans. "When it comes to budget balancing, city workers are in the cross hairs," Carroll said. "Otherwise, it's NIMBA, not in my budget area. No, New Yorkers say overwhelmingly, don't close senior centers or fire houses; don't reduce trash collections or increase school class size. They're negative, too, but not so heavily, on cutting street cleaning or library hours." From February 11 - 15, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,195 New York City registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and nationwide as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling his job as Mayor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 61% 67% 57% 66% 69% 52% 56% Disapprove 30 23 33 26 24 35 32 DK/NA 9 10 10 8 7 13 12 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 56% 55% 70% 60% 63% 62% 59% Disapprove 33 34 22 32 29 29 31 DK/NA 11 11 8 8 7 9 10 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling his job as Mayor? (*High also 75% Oct 3 2008, Mar 2008, Jan 2007 & Nov 2005) APPROVE....... DIS.. High Low High Feb 17 Sep 24 Aug 26 Jul 28 Oct 21 Jul 2 Jul 2 2010 2009 2009 2009 2008* 2003 2003 Approve 61 67 66 63 75 31 31 Disapprove 30 26 28 29 20 60 60 DK/NA 9 7 5 8 6 8 8 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joel Klein is handling his job as New York City Schools Chancellor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 39% 46% 40% 40% 44% 38% 36% Disapprove 40 31 40 39 34 45 41 DK/NA 21 23 20 20 23 17 22 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 36% 40% 43% 36% 49% 44% 36% Disapprove 46 41 31 43 44 38 42 DK/NA 18 20 27 21 7 19 22 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joel Klein is handling his job as New York City Schools Chancellor? APPROVE....... High Low Feb 17 Mar 24 Feb 24 Jan 27 Nov 25 Feb 26 Mar 15 2010 2009 2009 2009 2008 2003 2007 Approve 39 37 44 43 43 46 33 Disapprove 40 35 36 36 35 27 43 DK/NA 21 28 20 21 22 28 24 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill de Blasio is handling his job as Public Advocate? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 37% 35% 44% 28% 37% 48% 31% Disapprove 13 13 11 18 10 13 18 DK/NA 50 53 46 54 53 39 51 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 38% 42% 33% 35% 41% 37% 38% Disapprove 17 15 10 12 10 14 12 DK/NA 45 44 57 52 49 49 50 5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christine Quinn is handling her job as City Council Speaker? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 44% 34% 51% 36% 45% 44% 45% Disapprove 28 38 24 32 28 37 20 DK/NA 27 28 25 31 27 19 35 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 48% 37% 50% 43% 55% 40% 48% Disapprove 29 33 24 27 23 34 24 DK/NA 24 30 26 30 21 26 29 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christine Quinn is handling her job as City Council Speaker? APPROVE....... High Low Feb 17 Feb 24 Jan 27 Nov 25 Oct 3 Mar 14 Nov 25 2010 2009 2009 2008 2008 2007 2008 Approve 44 42 43 40 48 51 40 Disapprove 28 25 23 29 22 12 29 DK/NA 27 33 34 31 29 37 31 6. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Liu is handling his job as City Comptroller? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 44% 30% 50% 39% 39% 50% 46% Disapprove 11 21 7 15 13 7 11 DK/NA 45 49 43 46 48 43 43 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 49% 46% 36% 47% 40% 43% 45% Disapprove 10 11 9 11 16 13 9 DK/NA 41 43 55 42 44 44 46 7. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 72% 22% 89% 58% 53% 92% 88% Disapprove 25 75 8 38 43 5 10 DK/NA 3 3 3 4 4 3 2 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 83% 69% 77% 73% 40% 69% 74% Disapprove 14 27 20 23 57 28 22 DK/NA 3 4 3 4 3 3 4 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Feb 17 Aug 26 Jul 28 Jun 16 Feb 25 2010 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 72 76 74 79 78 Disapprove 25 19 20 16 13 DK/NA 3 5 6 6 9 8. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New York City today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Very satisfied 8% 6% 9% 7% 8% 6% 12% Smwht satisfied 51 55 55 48 58 49 39 Smwht dissatisfied 26 24 25 27 22 29 32 Very dissatisfied 14 15 11 17 11 16 16 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Very satisfied 4% 7% 13% 8% 5% 8% 8% Smwht satisfied 51 52 52 51 48 52 51 Smwht dissatisfied 30 27 24 25 29 25 27 Very dissatisfied 15 14 10 17 16 14 14 DK/NA - 1 1 1 2 1 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New York City today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT... High Low Feb 17 Jul 28 Jun 16 Mar 24 Feb 24 Feb 11 Jul 2 2010 2009 2009 2009 2009 1998 2003 Very satisfied 8 8 8 8 5 18 7 Smwht satisfied 51 51 51 45 44 58 23 Smwht dissatisfied 26 26 27 31 33 18 32 Very dissatisfied 14 14 13 14 17 5 38 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling the city budget? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 55% 64% 54% 56% 66% 43% 48% Disapprove 35 24 36 35 26 48 40 DK/NA 10 12 10 8 9 9 12 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 47% 50% 67% 55% 57% 59% 52% Disapprove 44 40 23 32 37 31 37 DK/NA 9 10 10 12 6 10 10 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling the city budget? (*High also 55% Jan 2009) APPROVE....... High Low Feb 17 Mar 24 Feb 25 Jan 28 Nov 25 Feb 17 May 7 2010 2009 2009 2009 2008 2010 2003 Approve 55 54 54 55 51 55 28 Disapprove 35 34 38 38 38 35 63 DK/NA 10 12 9 7 11 10 9 13. To balance the city budget, if you had to choose, would you prefer - raising taxes or cutting government programs and services? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Raising taxes 43% 8% 52% 36% 39% 48% 38% Cutting services 45 83 35 52 50 38 46 DK/NA 13 8 13 12 10 14 16 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Raising taxes 41% 44% 48% 44% 20% 40% 45% Cutting services 47 42 40 44 67 50 40 DK/NA 12 14 11 12 12 10 15 TREND: To balance the city budget, if you had to choose, would you prefer raising taxes or cutting government programs and services? Feb 17 Mar 24 Feb 25 Jan 28 Nov 25 2010 2009 2009 2009 2008 Raising taxes 43 52 53 46 48 Cutting services 45 37 39 39 37 DK/NA 13 11 8 15 15 14. To balance the city budget, if you had to choose, which city tax do you think should be increased: personal income tax, sales tax or property tax? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Income tax 22% 8% 26% 18% 25% 18% 20% Sales tax 43 56 40 47 41 49 39 Property tax 24 14 26 25 23 18 29 DK/NA 11 21 8 11 11 15 12 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Income tax 24% 22% 21% 21% 24% 21% 23% Sales tax 36 42 36 52 56 44 42 Property tax 21 23 34 20 8 22 25 DK/NA 19 13 9 7 13 13 10 TREND: To balance the city budget, if you had to choose, which city tax do you think should be increased - personal income tax, sales tax or property tax? (Data available upon request back to Jul 2002) Feb 17 Mar 24 Feb 25 Jan 28 Nov 25 May 7 Feb 27 2010 2009 2009 2009 2008 2003 2003 Income tax 22 28 21 22 21 23 19 Sales tax 43 39 49 43 44 40 41 Property tax 24 24 22 24 24 23 26 DK/NA 11 9 7 10 11 14 15 15. How serious do you think New York City's budget problems are - very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious, not at all serious? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Very serious 53% 47% 51% 57% 49% 58% 54% Smwht serious 39 46 41 37 46 33 32 Not too serious 5 5 6 5 4 6 10 Not at all serious 1 - 1 1 - 3 2 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 1 2 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Very serious 52% 55% 50% 53% 60% 53% 53% Smwht serious 38 38 41 39 35 36 41 Not too serious 8 3 7 6 4 7 4 Not at all serious 3 3 - 1 - 2 1 DK/NA - 1 2 1 1 2 1 TREND: How serious do you think New York City's budget problems are - very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious or not at all serious (*High also 95% Jan 2009) VERY+SMWHT... High Low Feb 17 Mar 24 Feb 25 Jan 28 Nov 25 Feb 25 Jul 17 2010 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009* 2002 Very serious 53 65 61 64 66 61 46 Smwht serious 39 29 34 31 28 34 41 Not too serious 5 3 3 3 3 3 9 Not at all serious 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 DK/NA 1 2 1 1 2 1 3 16. To help balance the city budget would you support or oppose closing some senior centers? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Support 12% 25% 10% 13% 17% 7% 8% Oppose 84 68 88 83 79 92 89 DK/NA 3 7 3 3 5 1 3 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Support 9% 14% 15% 8% 17% 13% 12% Oppose 90 84 82 85 82 82 86 DK/NA 1 3 3 7 2 5 2 18. To help balance the city budget would you support or oppose - closing some firehouses? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Support 12% 16% 11% 12% 13% 10% 13% Oppose 85 82 86 85 83 88 85 DK/NA 3 1 3 3 4 2 2 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Support 6% 12% 13% 14% 17% 15% 9% Oppose 92 86 82 83 82 81 88 DK/NA 1 2 5 4 1 3 3 19. To help balance the city budget would you support or oppose - reducing garbage collections? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Support 24% 28% 22% 27% 26% 22% 24% Oppose 74 70 76 71 72 77 73 DK/NA 2 2 2 1 2 1 3 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Support 21% 23% 22% 28% 37% 25% 24% Oppose 75 76 76 71 62 73 74 DK/NA 4 1 2 2 1 2 2 20. To help balance the city budget would you support or oppose - increasing class sizes in the public schools? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Support 22% 36% 19% 25% 27% 16% 24% Oppose 75 55 79 70 69 81 76 DK/NA 3 9 2 5 5 3 - Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Support 20% 23% 20% 21% 37% 30% 16% Oppose 77 75 75 76 60 66 81 DK/NA 4 2 5 2 3 4 3 21. To help balance the city budget would you support or oppose - reducing library hours? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Support 41% 59% 37% 41% 48% 30% 40% Oppose 57 37 60 57 50 67 57 DK/NA 2 4 2 1 2 3 2 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Support 35% 35% 44% 45% 53% 42% 40% Oppose 61 63 53 54 45 55 58 DK/NA 3 2 3 1 2 3 2 22. To help balance the city budget would you support or oppose - reducing street cleaning? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Support 44% 55% 41% 44% 54% 37% 32% Oppose 54 42 56 54 44 61 65 DK/NA 3 4 3 2 2 2 3 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Support 40% 43% 45% 42% 58% 46% 42% Oppose 59 56 51 54 40 52 55 DK/NA 1 1 4 4 2 2 3 23. To help balance the city budget would you support or oppose - layoffs for city employees? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Support 32% 58% 22% 42% 44% 12% 23% Oppose 63 36 75 51 49 86 73 DK/NA 5 5 4 7 7 2 4 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom HsHld Support 25% 30% 40% 29% 36% 39% 26% 19% Oppose 70 67 52 66 59 58 68 76 DK/NA 5 3 8 5 5 4 6 5 24. To help balance the city budget would you support or oppose - furloughs for city employees? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Support 50% 56% 47% 58% 58% 44% 41% Oppose 34 28 38 27 27 37 45 DK/NA 16 16 15 15 15 19 14 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom HsHld Support 44% 45% 57% 52% 57% 57% 45% 44% Oppose 39 34 29 35 40 30 38 43 DK/NA 17 21 14 14 3 14 17 13 25. To help balance the city budget, would you support or oppose - a wage freeze for city workers? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Support 63% 72% 60% 70% 71% 57% 49% Oppose 31 21 35 25 24 40 38 DK/NA 6 8 5 5 4 3 13 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom HsHld Support 52% 57% 69% 68% 75% 70% 58% 54% Oppose 43 37 23 26 23 25 36 40 DK/NA 5 6 8 5 2 5 6 6 26. President Obama has proposed a fee on the nation's largest banks. Which comes closer to your point of view: this fee is a good idea because the banks caused the economic problems and got a government bailout or this fee is a bad idea because it will reduce the taxes that New York City collects? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Good idea 65% 31% 73% 62% 58% 75% 64% Bad idea 26 60 16 32 35 17 20 DK/NA 9 8 11 6 7 8 16 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Good idea 67% 66% 66% 67% 45% 61% 68% Bad idea 18 26 25 24 50 31 21 DK/NA 14 8 9 9 6 7 11 27. Some people say that bonuses for people working in financial services should be limited because of the economic problems caused by the banks. Others say that bonuses for people working in financial services should not be limited because this reduces taxes that New York City collects. Which comes closer to your point of view? Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Yes/Limit bonuses 68% 39% 75% 63% 61% 76% 72% No/Reduces taxes 27 51 21 32 34 21 21 DK/NA 5 10 3 4 4 3 6 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Yes/Limit bonuses 73% 67% 62% 72% 64% 63% 72% No/Reduces taxes 21 28 33 24 33 33 23 DK/NA 5 5 5 4 2 4 5
