Cuomo
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - A majority of New Yorkers say they are optimistic that Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo will succeed in addressing several key issues, according to the results of a Siena Research Institute poll released Monday.
Many also have a favorable view of the Democratic governor-to-be, the survey showed.
"Fresh off his victory over Carl Paladino, 64 percent of voters have a favorable view of Andrew Cuomo, compared to 26 percent who view him unfavorably, his best favorability rating since May," Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement.
"Voters know the issues they want Cuomo to work on and they are at least somewhat optimistic he will succeed in addressing them."
Creating new jobs and balancing the state budget are the two most important issues residents want at the top of Cuomo's priority list, the Siena poll results found.
"Three-quarters of voters, including 65 percent of Republicans, are optimistic that Cuomo will develop programs to create new jobs, while only 24 percent are not very or not at all optimistic," Greenberg said.
By a 59 to 40 percent margin, the survey found residents are optimistic that the incoming governor will solve the state budget deficit.
The poll shows residents are least optimistic on enacting a property tax cap. Still, by a 52 to 41 percent majority, residents are optimistic.
By 26- and 16-point margins, respectively, voters are confident Cuomo will successfully pass a new ethics law and require non-partisan redistricting, according to the Siena poll.
New Yorkers also are divided on whether the new Cuomo administration will improve the quality of life for them over the next two years. Forty-one percent say the quality of life will improve, 44 percent say things will stay about the same and 14 percent believe the quality of life will worsen, the survey found.
Also, according to the survey, more than eight in 10 people polled don't like speculation of a Cuomo presidential candidacy, preferring that he prove he can succeed as governor first.
"While there's been early speculation by some that the governorship will merely be a stepping stone for Cuomo's bid for the White House, that kind of talk does not make voters happy," Greenberg said.
"Only 11 percent of voters like the Cuomo presidential speculation, while an overwhelming 85 percent, including 79 percent of Democrats, say they don't like the speculation because Cuomo needs to prove he can succeed as governor first," the pollster said.
As for the attorney general's opponent in this year's general election, residents' views of Paladino, a Buffalo real estate developer, has only worsened. His favorability rating doesn't hit 40 percent with any demographic group, the research institute found.
"And when asked whether (Paladino) should or should not remain active in New York politics, the answer voters give is a resounding 'no.' By a 58 to 27 percent margin, voters say Paladino should not stay on the New York political scene," Greenberg said.
The Siena survey was conducted Nov. 8-10 by telephone calls to 802 New York State registered voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by e-mail at jessica@legalnewsline.com.