New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s management of the troubled Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has gotten a huge thumbs down from voters, a new Quinnipiac University Poll released Thursday reveals.
"The consensus is someone has to pay the fare for bad mass transit, and at the moment, it's Gov. Andrew Cuomo who's getting his political ticket punched," said Tim Malloy, the poll’s assistant director.
According to the poll of 1,038 voters in the Empire State conducted from Feb. 9-12:
- Voters disapprove 49-29 percent of the way Gov. Andrew Cuomo is handling the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates subways, buses and trains in New York City and its surrounding suburbs.
- Disapproval is 62-32 percent among New York City voters, 54-36 percent among suburban voters and 31-21 percent among upstate voters.
- New York State voters oppose 49-43 percent a congestion pricing plan to raise money for New York City buses and subways. Upstate voters support the measure by a narrow 46-39 percent, while opposition is 54 - 42 percent among city voters and 57-38 percent among suburbanites.
- Democrats are divided on congestion pricing, with 47 percent in favor and 44 percent opposed. Opposition is 58-38 percent among Republicans and 50-40 percent among independent voters.
Cuomo also gets hit on other issues:
- New York State voters disapprove 41-29 percent of Gov. Cuomo's idea to replace the state income tax with a payroll tax to reduce the impact on New Yorkers of President Donald Trump’s new federal tax law.
- Voters say 50-42 percent that Gov. Cuomo and the State Legislature will not take steps in 2018 to improve ethics in government.
- Government corruption is a "very serious" problem in New York State, 46 percent of voters statewide say, and 37 percent say it is a "somewhat serious" problem. Another 12 percent say corruption is "not too serious" and 1 percent say it is "not a problem at all."
- Thinking about ethics in government, 49 percent say Cuomo is part of the problem and 38 percent say he is part of the solution. Cuomo is part of the problem, Republicans say 77-15 percent and independent voters say 57 - 32 percent. The governor is part of the solution, Democrats say 54-30 percent.
Cuomo does score some points:
- Voters support 59 - 34 percent Cuomo joining New Jersey and Connecticut governors in suing the federal government, claiming the new tax law discriminates against their states.
The Quinnipiac Poll, which is conducted by phone, has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.
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