New York City (NYC) Poll * June 17, 2009 * Give Mayor Control Of Schools, - Quinnipiac University

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June 17, 2009 - Give Mayor Control Of Schools, With Council, Beeps, New York City Voters Tell Quinnipiac University Poll; 'Don't Know' Has Big Lead In Comptroller, Advocate Races

Word format Mayoral control of New York City public schools should continue, City voters say 56 - 32 percent, with support from all political and racial groups, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
But when voters are asked if the Mayor should share control of the schools with the City Council, they agree 52 - 37 percent, with only Republicans objecting by the same 52 - 37 percent margin, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. When asked if the Mayor should share control of the schools with the borough presidents, voters agree 49 - 41 percent. Democrats agree 54 - 37 percent while Republicans object 51 - 41 percent and independent voters split 44 - 46 percent.
New York City voters approve 51 - 37 percent of the way Mayor Michael Bloomberg is handling the public schools. Approval is 55 - 32 percent among whites and 54 - 36 percent among Hispanics. Black voters split 46 - 45 percent. Voters also say 49 - 29 percent that his takeover of the public schools has been a success. Bloomberg gets a 52 - 23 percent thumbs up from whites, 47 - 35 percent from blacks and 49 - 32 percent from Hispanics.
"With the current three-ring circus in Albany, it's hard to predict what will happen with any legislation, including extending mayoral control of the schools. When we ask the question one way, New Yorkers want their state legislators to extend Mayor Michael Bloomberg's control of the public schools," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"But when we ask if the Mayor should share control with the City Council or the borough presidents, voters say yes to that, too. Of course the idea of sharing sounds good, but it gets to the very heart of the argument about mayoral control," Carroll said.
Former Public Advocate Mark Green leads the Democratic primary field to return to his old seat with 35 percent, followed by Norman Siegal with 14 percent, Brooklyn City Council member Bill de Blasio with 10 percent and Queens City Council member Eric Gioia with 5 percent. Another 34 percent are undecided.
Queens City Council member John Liu tops the Democratic primary pack in the City Comptroller's race with 19 percent, followed by Queens City Council member Melinda Katz with 13 percent, Brooklyn City Council member David Yassky with 10 percent and Queens City Council member David Weprin with 5 percent. In this race, 50 percent are undecided.
"Once upon a time, campaigns for all the citywide jobs attracted attention. Now, New Yorkers only pay attention to the mayoral race," Carroll said.
"Mark Green's long record in various public offices helps give him a lead for public advocate. But Norman Siegal and Council member Bill de Blasio hit double digits.
"Controller is a big job, with big responsibilities. But half of New York voters don't know enough about the candidates to pick one. Those who do know give Council member John Liu an edge over Council members Melinda Katz, David Yassky or David Weprin."
New York City voters approve 64 - 31 percent of the job police city-wide are doing, and approve 71 - 24 percent of the job police in their community are doing.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly gets a 63 - 22 percent approval rating.
"The friendly-fire death of Officer Omar Edwards hasn't cut into approval of the police, except among black New Yorkers, who disapprove 58 - 35 percent of the job police are doing," Carroll said.
From June 9 - 14, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,396 New York City registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 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, or call (203) 582-5201.
2. (If registered Democrat) If the 2009 Democratic primary for Public Advocate were being held today and the candidates were Mark Green, Norman Siegal, Bill de Blasio and Eric Gioia, for whom would you vote?
REGISTERED DEMOCRATS................... Tot Wht Blk Hisp Men Wom Green 35% 33% 39% 32% 34% 35% Siegal 14 13 17 9 16 12 de Blasio 10 14 7 7 11 9 Gioia 5 7 2 7 6 5 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 - - 2 - 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 1 - 3 2 2 DK/NA 34 30 36 41 31 36
3. (If registered Democrat) If the 2009 Democratic primary for Comptroller were being held today and the candidates were Melinda Katz, David Weprin, John Liu and David Yassky, for whom would you vote?
REGISTERED DEMOCRATS................... Tot Wht Blk Hisp Men Wom Katz 13% 13% 15% 16% 10% 15% Weprin 5 8 2 3 7 5 Liu 19 12 25 19 23 16 Yassky 10 11 4 11 11 9 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - - - 2 - 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 2 5 3 3 DK/NA 50 53 51 45 46 52
10. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ray Kelly is handling his job as Police Commissioner?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 63% 80% 59% 68% 80% 46% 57% Disapprove 22 12 26 19 11 40 21 DK/NA 14 9 15 13 10 14 22 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 64% 56% 67% 66% 73% 64% 63% Disapprove 22 27 19 20 19 22 22 DK/NA 15 17 14 14 8 13 15
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ray Kelly is handling his job as Police Commissioner? (*also 70% on 2/3/06)
APPROVE....... DIS.. High Low High Jun 17 Feb 24 Jan 27 Nov 25 Mar 9 Jan 16 Jan 16 2009 2009 2009 2008 2006* 2007 2007 Approve 63 64 67 62 70 52 52 Disapprove 22 20 19 23 17 34 34 DK/NA 14 16 14 16 13 14 14
20. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling the public schools?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 51% 62% 51% 51% 55% 46% 54% Disapprove 37 28 39 36 32 45 36 DK/NA 12 11 10 13 13 10 9 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 58% 45% 54% 52% 50% 55% 48% Disapprove 35 40 33 38 40 34 40 DK/NA 7 15 13 10 10 11 12
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling the public schools?
APPROVE....... DIS.. High Low High Jun 17 Mar 24 Feb 25 Jan 28 Jul 16 May 7 May 7 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008 2003 2003 Approve 51 47 50 53 56 35 35 Disapprove 37 40 39 35 32 52 52 DK/NA 12 13 11 13 12 12 12
21. Do you think Mayor Bloomberg's take-over of the public schools has been a success or failure?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Success 49% 57% 47% 51% 52% 47% 49% Failure 29 26 31 25 23 35 32 DK/NA 22 18 22 23 25 18 19 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Success 51% 44% 50% 50% 52% 54% 44% Failure 30 31 25 28 31 26 32 DK/NA 19 24 25 22 17 20 24
TREND: Do you think Mayor Bloomberg's take-over of the public schools has been a success or failure?
SUCCESS....... High Low Jun 17 Mar 24 Feb 25 Jan 28 Jul 16 Jul 16 Mar 15 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008 2008 2007 Success 49 46 50 47 54 54 39 Failure 29 33 31 31 26 26 34 DK/NA 22 22 19 22 20 20 27
22. Mayoral control of the public schools expires this year, unless the state legislature renews it. Do you think Mayoral control of the public schools should continue or not?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Continue 56% 64% 55% 57% 59% 48% 57% Stop 32 28 34 31 29 40 34 DK/NA 12 8 11 12 13 13 9 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Continue 54% 51% 61% 59% 50% 61% 51% Stop 36 35 25 32 40 29 36 DK/NA 10 14 14 9 10 11 13
TREND: Mayoral control of the public schools expires this year, unless the state legislature renews it. Do you think mayoral control of the public schools should continue or not?
Jun 17 Mar 24 Feb 25 Jan 28 2009 2009 2009 2009 Continue 56 52 55 56 Stop 32 37 35 34 DK/NA 12 12 9 10
23. Do you think the mayor should share control of the public schools with the city council or not?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Yes 52% 37% 57% 50% 45% 60% 59% No 37 52 33 40 42 31 33 DK/NA 11 11 10 10 13 8 8 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Yes 47% 55% 46% 57% 53% 50% 53% No 42 34 42 33 40 41 34 DK/NA 11 11 11 11 6 8 13
TREND: Do you think the mayor should share control of the public schools with the city council or not?
Jun 17 Mar 24 2009 2009 Yes 52 53 No 37 37 DK/NA 11 11
24. Do you think the mayor should share control of the public schools with the borough presidents or not?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Yes 49% 41% 54% 44% 38% 59% 59% No 41 51 37 46 50 34 34 DK/NA 10 8 9 9 12 7 7 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Yes 51% 50% 44% 52% 48% 47% 51% No 43 40 44 38 44 46 37 DK/NA 6 10 11 10 8 8 11
TREND: Do you think the mayor should share control of the public schools with the borough presidents or not?
Jun 17 Mar 24 Yes 49 50 No 41 41 DK/NA 10 8
25. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the New York City police are doing their job?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 64% 86% 58% 69% 82% 35% 62% Disapprove 31 12 37 27 13 58 34 DK/NA 5 1 5 4 4 7 3 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 62% 55% 71% 65% 82% 67% 61% Disapprove 33 41 24 31 15 28 34 DK/NA 4 5 5 5 4 5 5
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the New York City police are doing their job?
APPROVE....... DIS... High Low High Jun 17 May 8 Mar 13 Mar 15 Feb 7 Apr 20 Apr 20 2009 2008 2008 2007 2002 2000 2000 Approve 64 51 60 60 76 43 43 Disapprove 31 43 33 33 18 48 48 DK/NA 5 6 7 6 6 9 9
26. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the police in your community are doing their job?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 71% 87% 67% 76% 86% 51% 62% Disapprove 24 13 28 22 11 44 31 DK/NA 4 - 5 3 3 5 7 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 64% 68% 73% 76% 77% 72% 70% Disapprove 31 29 21 19 19 23 26 DK/NA 5 3 6 5 4 4 4
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the police in your community are doing their job? (*also low 65% on 10/02/1997)
APPROVE....... DIS.. High Low High Jun 17 May 8 Mar 15 Jan 16 Feb 7 Apr 20 May 8 2009 2008 2007 2007 2002 2000* 2008 Approve 71 66 68 67 79 65 66 Disapprove 24 30 27 29 18 28 30 DK/NA 4 4 5 5 3 6 4
27. Do you generally think of the police more as friends, more as enemies, or don't you think of them in either of these ways?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Friends 33% 51% 31% 32% 44% 23% 29% Enemies 11 5 12 10 3 21 12 Neither 54 43 55 57 51 52 57 DK/NA 3 1 3 1 2 5 2 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Friends 30% 31% 32% 35% 42% 34% 32% Enemies 13 13 9 10 2 13 9 Neither 53 52 56 53 55 51 56 DK/NA 4 3 2 3 1 2 3
TREND: Do you generally think of the police more as friends, more as enemies, or don't you think of them in either of these ways?
FRIENDS....... High Low Jun 17 May 8 Jan 16 Apr 13 Jun 23 Feb 7 Apr 20 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2002 2000 Friends 33 34 36 45 42 47 32 Enemies 11 11 9 7 7 4 10 Neither 54 53 53 46 48 46 56 DK/NA 3 2 2 2 3 2 2