Voters Split On Re-Electing De Blasio Following Summer Of Controversy
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A summer of controversy has sent Mayor Bill de Blasio's approval rating into a dramatic downward spiral with voters split on whether he should get a second term.
As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer explained, the mayor remains way ahead of his would be opponents.
A trip to Germany following the shooting death of a police officer, and a pair of controversial subway photo ops -- one generating an investigation into whether a train was held for him - have not produced a 'tunnel of love' for Mayor de Blasio.
Hizzoner's approval rating has plummeted 10 points, and voters are now divided about whether he should be re-elected.
"The message to the mayor is people don't believe the nonsense," Hank Sheinkopf said. "They're not really looking for the national secretary of progressive politics. They're looking for a mayor who stays at home."
The latest Quinnipiac University Poll shows the mayors approval rating has tumbled -- it's at 50 percent, down from 60 percent on May 17.
Voters are now split on whether he should get a second term; 46 percent say 'yes' while 46 say 'no.'
Team de Blasio has been shrugging it off.
"A poll taken in the middle of the summer is not reflective of anything, but that moment in time," campaign adviser Phil Walzak said. "I think that we're not complacent, I think we take the mission -- that of communicating the mayor's vision for New Yorkers -- very seriously"
The poll put de Blasio comfortably ahead of his Republican challenger, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, 57 to 22, it was 64 to 21 last time.
"Mayor de Blasio said last week, 'I don't care' New Yorkers realize that. They see that he doesn't care about our schools, about our police department, about the homeless crisis," Malliotakis spokesman Rob Ryan said.
So what do New Yorkers really think?
"That's a tricky question. At the beginning I was loving him, but I don't see nothing he's doing," one woman said.
"He's done a lot of things for the city," another resident countered.
Also worrisome for the mayor; voters disapprove of his handling of schools, political corruption, and the homeless.
A whopping 78 percent disagreed with his decision to have taxpayers foot the bill for the lawyers who represented him in state and federal corruption probes.
