by Devi Zinzuvadia
NARR:
The latest Quinnipiac (kwen-uh-pe-ack) University poll has both good and bad news for Mayor Bloomberg. The Mayor's approval rating as of yesterday was almost exactly equal to his unfavorable numbers, 44 to 45 percent. This is a small increase from the numbers 4 months ago, which had his approval rating at 37 percent. Maurice Carroll, the director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said the new numbers, while an improvement, are not exactly cause for celebration.
TAPE: CARROLL:
Mayor Bloomberg has moved out of the cellar into a halfway decent job approval rating, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. He's at a standoff - 44 to 45, after months of being way down in the soup.
NARR:
The poll also revealed that 45 percent of the New Yorkers polled are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the city today. Jonathan Werbel, one of Mayor Bloomberg's spokesmen, counters that there is a great deal for New Yorkers to be happy about.
TAPE: WERBEL:
The Mayor has an incredible record and it's no surprise New Yorkers are recognizing it. He's led our city through the worst fiscal crisis in a generation, reduced crime, reformed the management of our school system, and improved the quality of life so that jobs are coming back to New York City.
NARR:
The Mayor's office sees polls as a necessary part of political life, and does not plan to alter their course based on what the latest numbers tell them. But analysts like veteran Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf say the mayor's office should be concerned about these polling data.
TAPE: SHEINKOPF:
An incumbent elected official at this point in his career should be way above 50, closer to 60, coming less than, let's see, two years from an election. He's made some progress. This not to say that the mayor is certainly beatable, but he would have a tough time getting reelected today.
NARR:
In fact, this latest poll shows that if a head to head match up with former Bronx Borough president Fernando Ferrer were held today, the mayor would lose by almost 10 percentage points. And Mark Green, whom Bloomberg beat so soundly in 2001, would today be the choice of those voters sampled. Maurice Carroll says that the personal matters as much as the political in voters' estimation of Mayor Bloomberg's performance.
TAPE: CARROLL:
We seem to be getting used to the mayor, according to the Quinnipiac numbers, but we still don't feel that he is a warm guy. And that does matter. Almost two thirds of New Yorkers tell Quinnipiac that, yeah, they think it is of some importance that they should feel close to the mayor.
NARR:
66 percent of those polled said that they found Mayor Bloomberg to be "cold and businesslike." Sheinkopf says this could overwhelm the positive things the mayor has done.
TAPE: SHEINKOPF
There seems to be a wall which is probably more about style than anything else. They just don't like him. And the way he's going to have to run in order to be reelected is, you know, you may not like me, but I've done a heck of a job.
NARR:
Changing the public perception will be Mayor Bloomberg's challenge in the 21 months to come before New Yorkers get to cast a vote in a poll that really counts - their vote for the next mayor of New York City. For Columbia Radio News, I'm Devi Zinzuvadia.