Just like those daring young men in their flying machines of old, barnstorming the state has proved to be a good thing for Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
A Marist Poll found that seven in 10 New Yorkers view him in a favorable light and his job performance was rated at 48 percent.
Sure it”™s still early in the game, but Cuomo is not known for gaffes or missteps.
“His numbers surpass initial polls on the previous three governors and are comparable to his father”™s,” said Lee Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
That”™s sort of a backhanded compliment in light that the last two governors”™ times in the post were short-lived and were not known for their abilities to govern the state.
Cuomo is liked in all corners of the state, according to the poll numbers, although New York City at 76 percent likes him a bit better than the suburbs, 71 percent, and upstate, 68 percent.
Cuomo is a savvy politician; catching some good genes from his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo. His travels through the state are not just a means of selling his budget to the people, but a pre-emptive strike against the Evil Empire, aka the state Legislature, led by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
According to Miringoff, 58 percent of those polled had confidence in the governor”™s ability to address the budget, but 68 percent were not so sure that the lawmakers could do the same.
We hope that the state Legislature takes note of these numbers, which represent the people”™s unwillingness to take any more of the same shenanigans, when it tests the governor”™s patience during upcoming budget deliberations.
It”™s a tough, long road ahead for Cuomo. As he pointed out in his State of the State address and proposed budget, major changes are needed to jumpstart this state to return it to its former glory.
The poll bears this out: while 42 percent of voters think New York state is now moving in the right direction, 73 percent still think major changes are needed in the way things are done in state government. Ten percent said government is broken and beyond repair.
We”™re sure that Silver has taken note of the numbers of not this poll, but the others that have been completed so far this year on the new governor and the state of the state.
Silver must realize that there will be only one winner in the high-stakes budget game. Either he or Cuomo will have to fold their hand. We”™re betting it won”™t be Cuomo.
