New Yorkers don't have much hope for Albany.
An overwhelming majority—89 percent— of voters think that the state government is broken and needs to be fixed, but many don't believe the dysfunction will ever be rectified, according to a new Quinnipiac poll released this morning.
Even though many people are optimistic about the next four years with Gov.-Elect Andrew Cuomo, only 45 percent of voters believe that he will be able to fix the state government.
“That’s one messed-up state government in Albany, almost everyone agrees,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Will our new governor, Andrew Cuomo, be able to straighten things out?"
"We get two readings. Most New Yorkers are generally optimistic that he will do a good job overall. But will he be an effective Mr. Fix-it? Ask the question that way and voters are split."
Voters also said by a margin of 57-33 percent that the New York State Legislature will not cooperate in fixing the state government, placing much of the blame on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Only 19 percent of New Yorkers expect Silver to work with the Governor to fix the state government. Even Democrats said 45-26 percent that Silver is part of the problem.
"New Yorkers agree with people who follow New York politics: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been the 800-pound gorilla in Albany for years,” said Carroll. “That means he’s ‘part of the problem,’ most voters think. About one-fifth think he’ll cooperate to straighten the place out."
