April 14, 2011 - Property Tax Cap Is Top Priority For New York Voters, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Strong Support For Gay Marriage, Redistricting Reform Word format New York State voters support a proposed property tax cap 79 - 17 percent and in another question 46 percent say this should be the top priority for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. The independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds strong support for several other issues pending in Albany: 56 - 38 percent for a law allowing same-sex couples to marry; 51 percent for a commission independent of the State Legislature to draw district lines for members of Congress and the legislature, with 29 percent supporting a commission with some input from the legislature and 12 percent for allowing the legislature to continue drawing district lines; 55 - 40 percent for requiring legislators who practice law to disclose their clients. But voters oppose 52 - 41 percent public financing for state elections. Asked which of these items should be the top priority: 46 percent want the property tax cap; 29 percent want ethics reform; 7 percent want redistricting reform; 6 percent want same-sex marriage. "New Yorkers think property tax relief should be the Number One legislative priority now that the state budget is out of the way," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Next on the list is governmental ethics. Same-sex marriage? Political re-districting? Voters support these ideas, but they want that tax cap first. "An independent commission should draw the legislative and congressional district lines, most voters think, but a fairly good number would have some legislative input in the process." "Ethics questions get complicated. Most New Yorkers think lawyer-legislators should list their clients. A small majority oppose public financing of campaigns," Carroll added. Support for same-sex marriage is 70 - 25 percent among Democrats and 60 - 35 percent among independent voters, with Republicans opposed 61 - 34 percent. Men support the measure 52 - 43 percent and women support it 61 - 34 percent. New York State voters say 82 - 14 percent that teacher layoffs should be based on performance rather than seniority, matching the 85 - 12 percent finding in a February 24 Quinnipiac University poll. Even voters in union households support performance-based layoffs 67 - 28 percent. By a 49 - 25 percent margin, voters have a favorable opinion of public school teachers, but they say 49 - 42 percent that teacher unions play a negative rather than a positive role in improving the state's education system. Public school teachers who do an outstanding job should be rewarded with merit pay, voters say 67 - 30 percent. But firing bad teachers should be easier, voters say 64 - 31 percent. "New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's call to end LIFO, the last-in-first-out system for deciding how teachers should be laid off, wins solid approval. New Yorkers like the people who teach their kids, not their unions," Carroll said. New York State voters support rent regulation 59 - 33 percent. Support is 69 - 24 percent among Democrats and 59 - 33 percent among independent voters, while Republicans split 46 - 47 percent. Support for rent regulation is 68 - 26 percent among New York City voters, 57 - 35 percent among suburban voters and 52 - 37 percent among upstate voters. Pensions for local government employees should be negotiated by local officials rather than set by the State Legislature, voters say 50 - 38 percent, including 53 - 38 percent in union households. From April 5 - 11, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,704 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation 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. 15. Some people have said that New York State government is dysfunctional. Do you agree or disagree? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Agree 72% 74% 67% 75% 75% 69% Disagree 23 23 25 20 21 25 DK/NA 5 3 7 5 4 6 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Agree 76% 66% 72% 80% Disagree 19 29 22 17 DK/NA 5 5 6 3 TREND: Some people have said that New York state government is dysfunctional. Do you agree or disagree? Apr 14 Jul 28 Jun 23 Dec 16 Aug 18 Jun 22 Apr 7 2011 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009 2009 Agree 72 75 83 76 77 78 71 Disagree 23 20 14 19 19 18 23 DK/NA 5 4 3 5 3 4 6 16. Who do you think is most to blame - Governor Cuomo, the Republicans in the state legislature, the Democrats in the state legislature? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Cuomo 6% 7% 7% 3% 4% 7% Reps/State leg 32 5 57 27 31 33 Dems/State leg 29 61 6 32 33 24 DK/NA 33 26 30 38 31 35 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Cuomo 6% 5% 6% 6% Reps/State leg 24 47 28 37 Dems/State leg 31 21 37 24 DK/NA 39 27 30 33 17. Should there be a cap on how much property taxes can be raised annually in New York State or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes 79% 84% 73% 83% 77% 81% No 17 14 22 14 20 14 DK/NA 4 3 5 3 3 5 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Yes 83% 74% 81% 77% No 14 20 16 19 DK/NA 3 6 3 4 TREND: Should there be a cap on how much property taxes can be raised annually in New York State or not? Apr 14 Feb 23 Jan 26 2011 2011 2011 Yes 79 80 82 No 17 15 13 DK/NA 4 6 5 18. Do you think state legislators who are practicing lawyers should be required to publicly disclose their clients or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes 55% 50% 54% 62% 62% 48% No 40 46 41 33 34 45 DK/NA 6 5 5 5 4 7 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Yes 50% 56% 61% 58% No 43 39 36 37 DK/NA 7 5 3 5 TREND: Do you think state legislators who are practicing lawyers should be required to publicly disclose their clients or not? Apr 14 Jan 27 2011 2011 Yes 55 48 No 40 42 DK/NA 6 9 19. Do you support or oppose public financing of campaigns for governor, other statewide offices and the state legislature? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Support 41% 27% 50% 38% 45% 37% Oppose 52 66 40 58 49 55 DK/NA 7 7 9 5 7 8 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Support 37% 46% 39% 38% Oppose 58 44 53 52 DK/NA 5 10 7 9 TREND: Do you support or oppose public financing of campaigns for governor, other statewide offices and the state legislature? Apr 14 Jan 27 2011 2011 Support 41 40 Oppose 52 51 DK/NA 7 9 20. Who do you think should draw the district lines by which members of the state legislature and Congress are elected - the state legislature, a commission that has no connection to the state legislature, or an independent commission with some legislative input? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom State legislature 12% 9% 16% 7% 13% 12% Commission/No connection 51 57 44 60 55 48 Commission/Some leg input 29 29 31 27 27 32 DK/NA 7 6 8 6 6 9 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds State legislature 10% 16% 9% 9% Commission/No connection 58 46 47 61 Commission/Some leg input 24 31 36 24 DK/NA 8 7 7 6 21. Would you support or oppose a law that would allow same-sex couples to get married? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Support 56% 34% 70% 60% 52% 61% Oppose 38 61 25 35 43 34 DK/NA 5 5 5 5 6 5 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Support 53% 59% 58% 65% Oppose 41 36 36 30 DK/NA 6 4 6 5 TREND: Would you support or oppose a law that would allow same-sex couples to get married? Apr 14 Feb 24 Jan 27 Dec 16 Jun 23 May 14 Apr 15 2011 2011 2011 2009 2009 2009 2004 Support 56 54 56 47 51 46 37 Oppose 38 39 37 46 41 46 55 DK/NA 5 7 7 7 8 8 8 22. Now that the budget is passed, which of the following issues do you think should be the top priority for the governor and legislature? -Same-sex marriage, property tax cap, ethics reform, or redistricting? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Same sex marriage 6% 4% 9% 6% 6% 7% Property tax cap 46 60 37 46 45 47 Ethics reform 29 22 31 33 33 25 Redistricting 7 4 10 5 6 8 SOMETHING ELSE(VOL) 7 10 7 7 6 8 DK/NA 4 1 5 3 4 4 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Same sex marriage 6% 9% 4% 3% Property tax cap 47 37 60 48 Ethics reform 29 33 23 32 Redistricting 8 8 5 7 SOMETHING ELSE(VOL) 7 8 6 9 DK/NA 3 6 2 2 23. Is your opinion of New York State's public school teachers favorable, unfavorable, or haven't you heard enough about them? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 49% 41% 55% 51% 47% 50% Unfavorable 25 37 17 27 26 25 Hvn't hrd enough 22 20 24 20 24 21 REFUSED 3 3 4 2 2 4 Union HvKidsIn UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds PubSch Favorable 47% 47% 54% 63% 60% Unfavorable 27 24 25 21 23 Hvn't hrd enough 22 24 18 14 15 REFUSED 3 4 2 2 2 TREND: Is your opinion of New York State's public school teachers favorable, unfavorable, or haven't you heard enough about them? Apr 14 Feb 24 2011 2011 Favorable 49 50% Unfavorable 25 22 Hvn't hrd enough 22 25 REFUSED 3 3 24. Generally speaking, do you believe the teachers' unions are playing a positive or a negative role in improving New York State's educational system? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Positive 42% 29% 55% 37% 39% 45% Negative 49 65 34 54 52 46 DK/NA 9 6 10 9 9 9 Union HvKidsIn UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds PubSch Positive 39% 48% 38% 54% 43% Negative 51 42 57 40 49 DK/NA 10 11 5 6 7 TREND: Generally speaking, do you believe the teachers' unions are playing a positive or a negative role in improving New York State's educational system? Apr 14 Feb 24 Apr 15 2011 2011 2004 Positive 42 39 48 Negative 49 51 35 DK/NA 9 10 17 25. Some people say that public school teachers who do an outstanding job should be rewarded with additional pay - so called merit pay. Do you think this is a good idea or a bad idea? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Good idea 67% 66% 69% 67% 68% 66% Bad idea 30 32 28 30 28 31 DK/NA 3 2 3 4 4 3 Union HvKidsIn UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds PubSch Good idea 63% 74% 61% 54% 65% Bad idea 33 22 37 43 33 DK/NA 4 4 2 3 2 TREND: Some people say that public school teachers who do an outstanding job should be rewarded with additional pay - so called merit pay. Do you think this Apr 14 Feb 24 2011 2011 Good idea 67 64 Bad idea 30 33 DK/NA 3 3 26. Some people have suggested that firing public school teachers should be made easier. Do you think this is a good idea or a bad idea? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Good idea 64% 73% 52% 72% 67% 61% Bad idea 31 23 42 23 29 32 DK/NA 5 4 6 4 4 6 Union HvKidsIn UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds PubSch Good idea 65% 59% 68% 59% 68% Bad idea 28 36 28 37 29 DK/NA 6 5 4 4 4 TREND: Some people have suggested that firing public school teachers should be made easier. Do you think this is a good idea or a bad idea? Apr 14 Feb 24 2011 2011 Good idea 64 62 Bad idea 31 33 DK/NA 5 5 27. If public school administrators need to lay off teachers, do you think they should lay off teachers based on their performance, or based on seniority? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Seniority 14% 13% 16% 12% 15% 13% Performance 82 85 77 85 81 83 DK/NA 4 2 6 3 5 4 Union HvKidsIn UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds PubSch Seniority 13% 14% 14% 28% 15% Performance 82 82 82 67 83 DK/NA 5 4 4 5 2 TREND: If public school administrators need to lay off teachers, do you think they should lay off teachers based on their performance or based on seniority? Apr 14 Feb 24 2011 2011 Seniority 14 12 Performance 82 85 DK/NA 4 4 28. Do you support or oppose rent regulation, which controls the amount of rent a landlord can charge a tenant? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Support 59% 46% 69% 59% 56% 62% Oppose 33 47 24 33 36 30 DK/NA 8 7 7 8 8 8 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Support 52% 68% 57% 63% Oppose 37 26 35 31 DK/NA 11 6 8 6 29. As you may know, the state government sometimes requires local governments to adopt programs and regulations, known as state mandates. Do you think there are too many state mandates on local governments, too few state mandates on local governments, or about the right amount? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Too many 47% 63% 33% 52% 56% 39% Too few 8 5 11 6 6 10 About right 27 22 33 25 23 30 DK/NA 18 9 23 17 15 21 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Too many 56% 37% 47% 49% Too few 7 12 5 7 About right 23 29 31 27 DK/NA 15 23 17 17 30. Do you think local government officials should be allowed to negotiate pensions with local public employees or should this be left to state legislators? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Local officials 50% 52% 40% 58% 52% 47% State legislators 38 36 45 31 39 38 DK/NA 12 11 14 10 9 15 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Local officials 53% 43% 54% 53% State legislators 36 43 36 38 DK/NA 11 15 10 9
