Give Mayor Control Of Schools, With Council, Beeps, New York City Voters Tell Quinnipiac University Poll; 'Don't Know' Has Big Lead In Comptroller, Advocate Races

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Mayoral control of New York City public schools should continue, City voters say 56 - 32 percent, with support from all political and racial groups, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

But when voters are asked if the Mayor should share control of the schools with the City Council, they agree 52 - 37 percent, with only Republicans objecting by the same 52 - 37 percent margin, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. When asked if the Mayor should share control of the schools with the borough presidents, voters agree 49 - 41 percent. Democrats agree 54 - 37 percent while Republicans object 51 - 41 percent and independent voters split 44 - 46 percent.

New York City voters approve 51 - 37 percent of the way Mayor Michael Bloomberg is handling the public schools. Approval is 55 - 32 percent among whites and 54 - 36 percent among Hispanics. Black voters split 46 - 45 percent. Voters also say 49 - 29 percent that his takeover of the public schools has been a success. Bloomberg gets a 52 - 23 percent thumbs up from whites, 47 - 35 percent from blacks and 49 - 32 percent from Hispanics.

"With the current three-ring circus in Albany, it's hard to predict what will happen with any legislation, including extending mayoral control of the schools. When we ask the question one way, New Yorkers want their state legislators to extend Mayor Michael Bloomberg's control of the public schools," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"But when we ask if the Mayor should share control with the City Council or the borough presidents, voters say yes to that, too. Of course the idea of sharing sounds good, but it gets to the very heart of the argument about mayoral control," Carroll said.

Former Public Advocate Mark Green leads the Democratic primary field to return to his old seat with 35 percent, followed by Norman Siegal with 14 percent, Brooklyn City Council member Bill de Blasio with 10 percent and Queens City Council member Eric Gioia with 5 percent. Another 34 percent are undecided.

Queens City Council member John Liu tops the Democratic primary pack in the City Comptroller's race with 19 percent, followed by Queens City Council member Melinda Katz with 13 percent, Brooklyn City Council member David Yassky with 10 percent and Queens City Council member David Weprin with 5 percent. In this race, 50 percent are undecided.

"Once upon a time, campaigns for all the citywide jobs attracted attention. Now, New Yorkers only pay attention to the mayoral race," Carroll said.

"Mark Green's long record in various public offices helps give him a lead for public advocate. But Norman Siegal and Council member Bill de Blasio hit double digits.

"Controller is a big job, with big responsibilities. But half of New York voters don't know enough about the candidates to pick one. Those who do know give Council member John Liu an edge over Council members Melinda Katz, David Yassky or David Weprin."

New York City voters approve 64 - 31 percent of the job police city-wide are doing, and approve 71 - 24 percent of the job police in their community are doing.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly gets a 63 - 22 percent approval rating.

"The friendly-fire death of Officer Omar Edwards hasn't cut into approval of the police, except among black New Yorkers, who disapprove 58 - 35 percent of the job police are doing," Carroll said.

From June 9 - 14, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,396 New York City registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and nationwide as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.

2. (If registered Democrat) If the 2009 Democratic primary for Public Advocate were being held today and the candidates were Mark Green, Norman Siegal, Bill de Blasio and Eric Gioia, for whom would you vote? 3. (If registered Democrat) If the 2009 Democratic primary for Comptroller were being held today and the candidates were Melinda Katz, David Weprin, John Liu and David Yassky, for whom would you vote? 10. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ray Kelly is handling his job as Police Commissioner? TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ray Kelly is handling his job as Police Commissioner? (*also 70% on 2/3/06) 20. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling the public schools? TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling the public schools? 21. Do you think Mayor Bloomberg's take-over of the public schools has been a success or failure? TREND: Do you think Mayor Bloomberg's take-over of the public schools has been a success or failure? 22. Mayoral control of the public schools expires this year, unless the state legislature renews it. Do you think Mayoral control of the public schools should continue or not? TREND: Mayoral control of the public schools expires this year, unless the state legislature renews it. Do you think mayoral control of the public schools should continue or not? 23. Do you think the mayor should share control of the public schools with the city council or not? TREND: Do you think the mayor should share control of the public schools with the city council or not? 24. Do you think the mayor should share control of the public schools with the borough presidents or not? TREND: Do you think the mayor should share control of the public schools with the borough presidents or not? 25. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the New York City police are doing their job? TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the New York City police are doing their job? 26. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the police in your community are doing their job? TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the police in your community are doing their job? (*also low 65% on 10/02/1997) 27. Do you generally think of the police more as friends, more as enemies, or don't you think of them in either of these ways? TREND: Do you generally think of the police more as friends, more as enemies, or don't you think of them in either of these ways?