Poll: New Yorkers support changes to bail reform law, but split on how they will impact crime
NEW YORK -- A new poll is giving Gov. Kathy Hochul plenty to worry about.
She currently has the lowest lowest job performance rating since she took office, and with crime continuing to soar, voters think the bail reforms she pushed through the Legislature simply wont work, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported Monday.
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The poll has energized governor Hochul's opponents, and with the primary just over two months away they smell blood in the water and are trying to capitalize on it.
Hochul was roundly applauded by a hometown Buffalo crowd, where she talked about her budget.
"I feel like I just scored a game-winning touchdown with that kind of applause," she said.
But a new Siena College poll makes it seem like she was stopped at the goal line, at least for now. Voters have turned thumbs down on her job performance.
- Only 36 percent have a positive opinion of how she's doing
- 69 percent give her poor marks on fighting crime
- 63 percent give her a negative rating on addressing economic issues
- 65 percent say she hasn't restored trust in government
And while 67 percent of voters approve of her changes to bail reform, they don't think it will work.
- 38 percent say the changes will have no effect on the crime rate
- Just 32 percent say it will decrease crime
- 16 percent say changing the law will increase crime
"Very clearly, Kathy Hochul, the unelected governor, has now demonstrated clearly that she's unelectable," Rep. Tom Suozzi said.
The poll gives Hochul's Democratic primary opponents, Suozzi and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, an opening to attack the governor on a host of issues, from picking recently indicted Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin as her running mate, pushing through a sweetheart deal to build a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, and for not getting the Legislature to pass a stronger bail reform bill.
"Everybody who's down a deep dive analysis shows that it's going to effect a very small amount of crimes. We need to give judges the discretion to consider dangerousness," Suozzi said.
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"What the poll says is that New Yorkers are really tired of the status quo in how Albany works and I will tell you the Democratic party has had a problem dealing with that reality and the Republican party has not and that's where we've run into trouble," Williams said.
Hochul defended her bail reform package, saying that it added a number of violent crimes, hate crimes and gun offenses to the list of those where judges could set bail.
"There were a lot of crimes that were just falling between the cracks, where people would commit a crime and because of the laws were able to return out to the streets awaiting trial with an appearance ticket, a parking ticket," Hochul said.
One of the most troubling things for Democrats is that 45 percent of voters say they'll vote for "someone" else in November if Hochul win's her party's primary. That could be a huge advantage for whoever wins the Republican primary.