Mayor Bloomberg’s approval rating has dropped to its lowest point in three years – a 9% nose dive that shows New Yorkers are angry with his change in term limits and plan to raise taxes on homeowners.
A Marist poll out Friday showed 59% of voters think he is doing an excellent or good job, down from 68% a month ago.
It’s the first time his popularity has fallen below 60% since August 2005.
But perhaps more damaging for the billionaire-turned-politician is that his lead over rivals for next year’s mayoral race is thin.
Only 51% of those surveyed said they would vote for Bloomberg in a match-up against Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens/Brooklyn) compared to 37% for the Congressman.
When pitched against Comptroller Bill Thompson he leads 52% to 32%.
Of those polled. 12% were undecided.
Both rivals waged a vocal battle against his push to change term limits.
The slim lead “can be troublesome for an incumbent,” said Marist pollster Lee Miringoff who added that “51% is about as slim a majority as you can have at this point.”
Since the last poll, the City Council voted to change term limits so Bloomberg could run again and the mayor has threatened to pull $400 rebates to homeowners and hike property taxes 7% to plug a budget hole.
Says Miringoff: “He is popular but the numbers have declined so the question is are we looking a short term fallout from the term limit or are we seeing a trend line with people being dissatisfied because of the economy.”
(Source: NY Daily News)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
Mr. Bloomberg is a man that does not care about ratings, except if it has an affect on what he is trying to get done.
His goal is to make sure that New York comes out on the other side of this financial mess in one piece, and he must take some drastic measures to make it happen.
We are lucky to have a mayor that is not afraid to take bold and unpopular steps in such a hard time.
He does what he thinks is right. He does what he thinks is good for the people.
And if history has anything to say about it, what he thinks is often correct.
Let the man do his job, and stop hating.