NYC Residents Need To Pay Cuomo Back For His Betrayal On Rent Regulations

Governor Cuomo is holding rent regulations in NYC hostage to his education tax credit giveaway to his billionaire buddy friends - no tax credit, bye-bye rent regulations.

This is not sitting well with tenant advocates who protested outside a $2500 a head Cuomo fundraiser at the Plaza Hotel:

"I'm here because of the rent," said Margie Trisbend, a 70-year-old Bronx resident. "For years, I was paying $723. Last month, it went up to $1,574. If I can't afford my rent, where am I going to go?" Trisbend was skeptical of Cuomo's commitment to renters. "He's not acting in good faith," she said. "He's acting in favor of the landlords."

Carrying banners that mocked the Governor's $1.5 million campaign donation from ethically embroiled real-estate giant Glenwood Management, the crowd stood in a pen of police barricades across from the hotel, chanting "La renta sube sube! El pueblo sufre sufre!"

In recent days, Cuomo has said that he is willing to strengthen rent protections—but only if the legislature agrees to a tax incentive that shunts public money into private schools, a plan his critics point out is especially attractive to the billionaires who donate to his campaigns at events like yesterday's.

"He wants to take money from the poor and give it to the rich," said Everett Stembridge, 57, a Harlem parent of public high school students.

"Our public schools are underfunded. We need money," said Mindy Rosa, a public school teacher. "Why should I pay for private schools, pay for charter schools, when my schools don't have our resources?"

But you have a weapon against Cuomo and his betrayals:

Jean Folkes, a 73-year-old member of the Flatbush Tenant's Association, who has lived in her neighborhood since moving to the country in 1969, wanted to speak directly to the Governor. "Cuomo, where is your humanity? Did money eat your humanity?" she asked. "We have elephant memories. We'll see to it that you lose if you run again. Enjoy your last two and a half years in Albany, if you're not indicted before then."

Yes, holding him accountable if he tries to run for re-election is one way to pay Cuomo back for his betrayal.

But three years is a long time to wait for payback - there's something NYC residents can do right now to pay back Cuomo for his betrayal.

Cuomo's poll numbers have fallen to all-time lows in all three major polls - the Siena poll, the Marist poll, and the Quinnipiac poll.

His support upstate is in the toilet, he has lukewarm support at best in the suburbs - the only thing propping him up from falling below Spitzer levels is the support he enjoys in NYC.

Cuomo's currently set to screw NYC residents by destroying tent regulations if he doesn't get his way on his education tax credit.

Isn't it time NYC residents pay the governor back by withdrawing support and sending him plummeting past the Spitzer line?

Some commenters on this blog think Cuomo doesn't care about poll numbers so long as he's got the support, both political and financial, of his wealthy donors.

I don't think that's the case

Believe me, when the headlines come that Cuomo's in the mid-to high-twenties in job approval because his NYC support has cratered, he'll be paying attention.

Nothing takes a politician closer to irrelevancy faster than poll numbers in the twenties.

That doesn't mean Cuomo won't still try and impose his preferred policies on the state if he falls below the Spitzer line.

But it's a lot harder to be successful at that when you're at 25% approval.

Cuomo Approval Has Fallen 30 Points In Quinnipiac Poll From 2012 To 2015

Quinnipiac poll out today showing Governor Cuomo's approval rating underwater:

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday morning found Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s approval rating continues to fall as the state government grapples with multiple ethics and corruption scandals.

Voters, meanwhile, blame the concentration of power in state government in the “three men in a room” — two of whom this year were arrested in separate corruption cases brought by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office.

The poll found 44 percent of New York voters approve of the job Cuomo is doing as governor, down from 50 percent approval shown in a March 17 survey.

...

The numbers track closely to a Siena College poll showing sagging numbers for Cuomo as well.

The trend for Cuomo is horrific:

December 2012: 74% approval 13% disapproval
May 2014: 59% approval 32% disapproval
December 2014: 58% approval 32% disapproval
March 2015: 50% approval 39% disapproval
June 2015: 44% approval 42% disapproval

Right track/wrong track numbers are pretty bad:

Very or somewhat satisfied with way things are going in New York State: 41%
Somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the way things are going in New York State: 58%

52% say Cuomo is part of the problem of ethics in government, 32% say he's part of the solution.

79% blame the "Three Men In A Room" governing culture in Albany either partly or fully for the corruption in state government, 11% say it's not a cause at all.

Sheriff Andy has tried to ride above the Albany cesspool and he fooled a lot of people for a long time (especially in the Q poll, which tended to have higher approval numbers for Cuomo than the other two polls), but he's not fooling too many people anymore.

Cuomo Hits Low In Approval Rating In Siena Poll, 41%-59%

Just as the last Marist poll released two weeks ago showed Governor Andrew Cuomo hitting the lowest job approval numbers of his governorship, a Siena poll out today shows Cuomo hitting bottom on job approval.

His job approval/disapproval number is 41%-59% - and his favorability rating fell too:

“Cuomo, while still viewed favorably by a small majority of voters, has his lowest favorability rating since he's been governor. While his statewide favorability rating dropped by a net eight points in the last month, it fell by a net 19 points with New York City voters and a net 25 points with Republicans,” said Steve Greenberg, a spokesman for the Siena poll. “Similarly, Cuomo's job performance rating is also at an all-time low. More than twice as many voters say he's doing a poor job as compared to those who say he's doing an excellent job. Even Democrats are evenly divided, with 50 percent giving him a positive job performance rating and 49 percent rating him negatively. His job performance rating is significantly under water with Republicans, independents, downstate suburbanites and upstaters.”

I thought all the publicity Cuomo was garnering ministering to his partner, Sandra Lee, both pre-and post-cancer surgery might have turned around his numbers a bit.

But the Siena poll was taken May 18-21 - right during the height of the Sandra Lee PR (see here and here) - and Cuomo's ratings do not appear to have been affected positively by the pictures of Cuomo in a hospital gown ministering to Lee.

It will be interesting to see if there's a positive effect on Cuomo's numbers next time around.

In any case, Cuomo's not at lows in both the Marist and Siena polls - New Yorkers clearly do not like the job this governor is doing and more and more, they don't even really like him despite the PR attempts to humanize him.

Cuomo's Diminished Capitol Presence

Dana Rubenstein and Laura Nahmias at Capital NY:

Cuomo has been a diminished presence in the Capitol recently. A review of his public advisory schedules shows that during his first term in office, he averaged three press conferences in Albany each April. This year, he has had none. All eight of his pre-advised public appearances have taken place in either New York City or Cuba, where he traveled last month for a trade mission. He held no press conference after passing the budget this year, something he’s done each year since taking office in 2011.

To the extent he does appear in public, he does so unexpectedly.

On a recent evening, he appeared at a Saugerties diner, preceded by a state police detail, who swept the restaurant before Cuomo arrived. He reportedly ordered a steak.

In April, he showed up at the Manhattan bar mitzvah for the son of a major taxi industry financier. (Nicki Minaj was a guest performer.)

More recently, he gave a political speech to a group of Brooklyn Democrats. The event which was advertised by neither his campaign nor his government handlers.

Cuomo has been more forceful in his public appearances in the last couple of days, following a fire at the Indian Point nuclear facility. As in the past, Cuomo seemed most comfortable when responding to an emergency.

Cuomo seems most comfortable when responding to emergencies because he knows he's safe from being asked any uncomfortable questions like "Are you under criminal investigation?" or "How could you misremember meeting with Glenwood bagman Charlie Dorego since you were one of only three people in the room and the other - Leonard Litwin - was your biggest donor?"

Cuomo's diminished Capitol presence parallels his diminished poll numbers - he's now near Spitzer levels.

Here's hoping the diminished presence continues and he eventually disappears from the Capitol completely.

Andrew Cuomo Approaching Eliot Spitzer Numbers In Marist Poll

A WSJ/NBC4/Marist poll released last night found Governor Andrew Cuomo with a 37% job approval rating and a 59% disapproval rating.

He's approaching Spitzer levels in these numbers.

In a WNBC/Marist poll released on January 25, 2008, former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer had a 35% job approval rating and a 56% disapproval rating.

The January 2008 Marist poll was taken before the New York Times reported in March 2008 that Spitzer patronized an elite escort service.

Comparing yesterday's WSJ/NBC4/Marist poll to the January 2008 WNBC/Marist poll, Cuomo is just two points higher than Spitzer in job approval and is three points higher in disapproval.

Think about this for a minute - Cuomo is just above pre-scandal Spitzer levels in job approval but has a higher pre-scandal Spitzer rating for job disapproval.

Quite a fall for Andrew Cuomo. 

As one commenter at the WSJ put it:

Must be quite disappointing for the ego driven governor. Never has a politician spent more on personal PR campaigns. Poor/Fair numbers have doubled from 30% to 60% in four years. Wonder who Mr. Bully will blame.

Cuomo can assuage his ego if he looks at the post-scandal Spitzer numbers from the WNBC/Marist poll released on March 11, 2008.

Spitzer had fallen to 30% job approval in that poll, 64% disapproval.

Cuomo has a job approval rating that is seven points higher than Client Number 9, a disapproval rating that is just five points lower.

Think about that for a minute - Andrew Cuomo, who hasn't been named as a client of an escort service or embroiled in a political scandal like Troopergate beats a guy who had been by just seven points on approval and five points on disapproval.

Now its possible that yesterday's Marist poll numbers were influenced by the Skelos scandal - the poll was taken the day Skelos was arrested and the day after.

Nonetheless, as I pointed out yesterday, the trend in the Marist poll for Andrew Cuomo is quite clear:

Cuomo has said aloud that he would like to run for a third term, but given the numbers he has right now and the trend over the past 4+ years, he would be no shoe-in for re-election.

A lot can happen in three-and-a-half years of course - for that matter, a lot can happen in five months.

Since the beginning of the year, we have seen both Assembly Speaker Silver and Senate Majority Leader Skelos arrested and stripped of power in their respective chambers.

Cuomo has his own ethics and corruption issues to deal with (here and here.)

Given the job approval/disapproval numbers Cuomo currently enjoys, along with his falling favorability numbers, it wouldn't take much for Cuomo to go from essentially equal to pre-scandal Spitzer to essentially equal post-scandal Spitzer in numbers.

Andrew Cuomo's Job Approval Hits Record Low: 37% Approve, 59% Disapprove

Just out from Marist:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s approval rating dropped to its lowest mark since he took office in 2011, according to a new Wall Street Journal-NBC 4 New York-Marist poll.

Released on Monday, the poll shows that 37% of New York voters consider Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, to be doing a good or excellent job, down from 44% in October.

According to the new poll, Mr. Cuomo’s lower approval rating is partly because of voter concerns about corruption in the state’s government.

...

More than half of those polled, 52%, said they have a favorable opinion of the governor. That too, however, marked a decline from his 54% favorability rating last October, which is within the poll’s margin of error.

Respondents who said they had an unfavorable opinion of Mr. Cuomo rose to 43%, compared with 36% in October, his highest unfavorable rating in a Marist poll since taking office.

Okay, two things of importance here.

First, the trend in the job approval numbers is downward since 2012.

See here:

Those trend lines for job approval don't lie.

Second point - favorability rating.

Cuomo remains over 50% in favorability, but again, the trend is unmistakeable - his favorability rating is declining over time and his unfavorability rating is rising.

If the trend continues, he will eventually fall below water on favorability too.

This is governor who governs as if he still has favorability ratings in the 80's and job approval ratings in the 60's, but the truth is, he's not a very popular governor and he gets less and less popular in both job approval and favorability as time goes on.

37% job approval - looks like New Yorkers have come in with their own APPR rating for Governor Cuomo - highly "ineffective."

Marist Poll Shows Cuomo Running Away With Race

Those of you hoping GOP challenger Rob Astorino could close in the waning days of the campaign to make this election a squeaker, the latest Marist poll will disappoint you:

THE LATEST NUMBERS: A Marist College/WNBC/Wall Street Journal poll found 82 percent of New Yorkers back a 21-day quarantine for health care workers returning from Ebola-stricken areas, and 63 percent of those surveyed said they supported Cuomo’s handling of the situation. Horse race: Cuomo 56, Astorino 30, Hawkins 6.

As some surmised, Cuomo's handling of the Ebola case got him derision from public health officials, scientists and many in the media, but helped him win support from the general public.

If Cuomo wins the election with anything close to these numbers, he will claim a mandate and attempt to push through his agenda no matter the opposition.

Given that the Senate looks like it will remain in the hands of the GOP's Dean Skelos and the IDC's Jeff Klein, this means pro-charter, anti-teacher legislation will sail through pretty easily.

Unless something changes quickly, it's going to be a dark few years.

Marist Poll: De Blasio 65%, Lhota 22%

Just came out:

Democrat Bill de Blasio leads Republican Joe Lhota among likely voters by 43 percentage points in the nascent general-election race for New York City mayor, an enormous starting advantage for Democrats who are seeking to recapture City Hall for the first time in 20 years, a Wall Street Journal-NBC 4 New York-Marist poll released Tuesday showed.

Mr. de Blasio, the city's public advocate, is outpacing Mr. Lhota, a former deputy mayor in Rudy Giuliani's administration, 65% to 22% among likely voters, including those who are undecided but leaning toward a candidate. Adolfo Carrion, a former Bronx borough president who is running on the Independence Party line, is trailing with 3%.

The poll found 9% are undecided and 1% support another candidate. Among those voters with a candidate preference, 54% said they strongly support their choice and 13% said they might vote differently.

Ariel Edwards Levy notes the following:

Same as QPac from January-April http://t.co/hGnE9EMN7g RT @ForecasterEnten: de Blasio 65 , Lhota 22... And the long good night.
— Ariel Edwards-Levy (@aedwardslevy) September 17, 2013

In a June Marist poll, de Blasio was beating Lhota 52%-14%.

Lhota has his work cut out for him.

The WSJ article says he needs a "game change":

"It's a very lopsided contest at this point," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. "Coming out of the starting blocks, it is playing de Blasio's way in a big way."

In the coming weeks, Mr. Lhota needs a "game change" to have a chance at beating Mr. de Blasio, Mr. Miringoff said. "He may close the gap," he said, "but right now this is not competitive." 

Bloomberg, of course, needed a "game change" in 2001 as well in order to win his race.

On September 11, he got that "game change."

God knows, we don't need that kind of "game change" again.

But I put that out there just to remind you that a 43 percentage point lead in September, mirroring a similar 43 percentage point lead in another poll taken back January-April, does not mean the race is over.

Lots will happen before the election.

Lots more can happen.

But it's a good sign early on that Lhota has to fight some serious headwinds.