MAYOR BLOOMBERG’S APPROVAL RATINGS DROP 7%, ACCORDING TO MARIST COLLEGE POLL.

Along with the Mayor’s low ratings, the city itself is not polling so well either.  According to the Marist poll only 37% of the City’s electorate believe New York is heading in the right direction, an 8% drop from when the same poll was given in November.  

 

This comes months after a special city council vote allowed him to run for re-election for a third term, a decision muddled with controversy.  According to the Marist poll 46% of those asked believe that the term limit extension is bad for the city, as opposed to 25% who support it.  Further, when asked “Do you think Mayor Bloomberg deservers to be re-elected Mayor, or is it time to elect someone else?” 55% of those polled believe it is time for someone new to 40% who believe he should be re-elected.

 

However, even with majority disapproval of his bought for a third term the report shows that if the mayoral election were held today Mayor Bloomberg would have a decisive win. In all scenarios against his democratic opponents Bloomberg wins by at least a 15% lead. He beats Congressman Anthony Weiner 53% to 37%, City Comptroller Bill Thompson 53% to 36%, and against City Council Member Tony Avella Bloomberg wins 54% to 28%.

 

These contradictory results may be because though the Mayor’s overall approval ratings have taken a hit, the poll finds that when broken down people have a more favorable view of him then they did four years ago.

 

 

As per the economic crisis voters are split.  43% of voters approve of how the Mayor is handling it while 46% disapprove.   There has been little change in the results for other main issues.

 

 

These conflicting findings may be an indication that the caucus’s vote may have more to do with an overall feel of uncertainty rather than based on objective grounds.  Name recognition and bounces in the economy could have major plays in the way people vote.

 

The Marist survey was conducted February 16^th and 17^th, 2009 with 827 registered voters within New York City.  The results for the entire survey are statistically significant ± 3.5%.