Siena Research Institute

of Siena College, Loudonville, NY.

For Immediate Release: Friday - August 3, 2001

  

New York Legislature Hits Rock Bottom In Latest Siena College Research Institute Survey

President Bush Also Slides To New Low With New Yorkers

 

            Loudonville, New York - The job approval ratings of the New York State Legislature have sunk to a new low according to the latest monthly survey by the Siena College Research Institute (SRI).  The findings show that only 26% of all New Yorkers believe the Albany lawmakers are doing a good job -- a drop of 13 points from the previous month.

              “The evidence is clear -- New Yorkers are angry with the Legislature’s unwillingness or inability to do its job,” said SRI Co-Director Professor Thomas Kelly.  “We’ve seen declines in the past during budget battles in Albany, but this year’s posturing has record numbers of New Yorkers turning thumbs down on the job performance of their state lawmakers.”

              Professor Kelly noted that there were steep declines -- as high as 19 points -- among almost every demographic group tracked by the survey.  The smallest drop -- 4 points -- was among those living in households with incomes of less than $50,000 a year.  However, their approval ratings were found to be only 24%, having previously declined 13 points in the June survey.

              “I don’t think there’s any doubt that members of the State Legislature are feeling the pressure, and it’s pretty obvious they’re trying to turn things around by cooking up this latest scheme of a ‘baseline budget’,” Kelly said.

              The latest SRI survey found that Governor Pataki’s numbers also dropped by 3 points overall, but he still enjoyed a 60% level of job satisfaction.

              New Yorkers also handed President Bush his lowest numbers since taking office, with an approval rating of just 39%.  It was the President’s third consecutive monthly loss from his high of 53% in April.   Interestingly, the SRI survey found he lost the most ground with members of his own Republican party -- dropping 12 points to 67%.   Meanwhile, New York Democrats gave him a 3 point increase, but his satisfaction level with them was only 19%.

              For Congress, there was a 2 point decline in its job approval numbers, to 42%. 

              “There’s a lot of uncertainty right now... things like the economy, envinronment, energy and health care,” Professor Kelly observed.  “And they’re taking their toll on politicians everywhere.”

The SRI survey was conducted by random telephone calls to 610 New York State residents over the age of 18.  It carries a sampling error of +/-4.0 points.  For more information or comment, please contact Professor Thomas Kelly at: 518-585-6165.  SRI surveys are also available on the Internet at: www.siena.edu/sri.

SIENA RESEARCH INSTITUTE
NEW YORK STATE SURVEY
Conducted by the Siena Research Institute of Siena College, Loudonville, NY.
Approval Ratings Only                        
1.  Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?
 

LOCATION

 POLITICAL PARTY GENDER

AGE

 INCOME
Overall NYC NYS outside NYC DEMS REPUB Other M F - 55 55+ -$50M $50M+
Jul-01 39 34 42 19 67 42 41 37 39 42 33 44
Jun-01 42 39 43 16 79 38 47 36 39 47 41 46
May-01 50 42 55 31 78 46 52 48 55 43 52 50
Apr-01 53 46 57 37 80 46 58 48 51 57 51 56
Mar-01 47 41 51 25 75 47 51 44 46 48 42 53
Feb-01 45 39 48 26 79 39 45 45 43 49 39 50
2.  Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?
 

LOCATION

 POLITICAL PARTY GENDER

AGE

 INCOME
Overall NYC NYS outside NYC DEMS REPUB Other M F - 55 55+ -$50M $50M+
Jul-01 42 41 43 43 48 40 40 44 48 32 36 52
Jun-01 44 46 43 34 58 43 47 41 49 34 32 56
May-01 44 36 48 37 62 35 43 45 46 40 44 43
Apr-01 51 50 51 48 65 41 52 50 52 49 48 57
Mar-01 46 42 47 39 57 42 46 45 49 39 41 50
Feb-01 48 45 50 39 66 44 51 45 52 42 40 56
Jan-01 51 48 52 54 59 40 50 51 57 41 52 52
Dec-00 42 41 42 40 48 41 37 46 46 33 38 44
Nov-00 44 43 44 42 59 33 45 43 47 38 44 43
Oct-00 44 45 44 51 44 40 43 46 49 37 42 49
Sep-00 43 44 41 40 52 39 45 40 47 35 39 46
Aug-00 37 34 38 39 46 32 35 39 45 25 34 41
Jul-00 36 39 34 36 36 38 34 38 43 27 37 38
Jun-00 34 36 33 32 46 30 32 34 41 26 31 41
May-00 39 38 40 42 42 31 37 41 43 34 40 38
Apr-00 38 36 39 42 42 31 38 38 42 30 33 47
Mar-00 38 36 39 37 47 34 38 38 42 30 36 42
                       
3.  Do you approve or disapprove of the way George Pataki is handling his job as governor?
 

LOCATION

 POLITICAL PARTY GENDER

AGE

 INCOME
Overall NYC NYS outside NYC DEMS REPUB Other M F - 55 55+ -$50M $50M+
Jul-01 60 60 61 54 78 56 62 59 60 62 58 62
Jun-01 63 63 63 48 79 63 67 58 61 64 60 62
May-01 66 61 68 54 78 66 68 63 63 69 65 65
Apr-01 62 59 63 57 74 53 63 60 60 64 60 63
Mar-01 61 55 64 55 74 57 64 58 61 61 55 66
Feb-01 61 60 62 51 83 55 60 62 58 68 57 64
Jan-01 63 56 66 58 81 55 63 63 63 64 64 67
Dec-00 56 47 60 50 79 47 51 60 55 57 56 56
Nov-00 59 56 60 52 78 56 62 56 57 63 59 59
Oct-00 57 51 61 54 67 58 60 54 54 62 54 62
Sep-00 60 57 62 53 80 56 65 54 57 66 58 61
Aug-00 62 56 66 55 79 59 65 59 59 68 59 66
Jul-00 60 56 63 57 71 57 60 60 59 62 57 63
Jun-00 60 57 62 51 76 62 58 62 60 61 59 66
May-00 58 55 60 55 69 56 58 58 59 60 58 63
Apr-00 54 51 56 47 70 52 54 54 54 54 50 59
Mar-00 52 49 54 43 72 49 57 47 53 50 49 54
                       
4.  Do you approve or disapprove of the way the New York State Legislature is handling its job?
 

LOCATION

 POLITICAL PARTY GENDER

AGE

 INCOME
Overall NYC NYS outside NYC DEMS REPUB Other M F - 55 55+ -$50M $50M+
Jul-01 26 29 25 28 28 24 25 28 29 20 24 29
Jun-01 39 42 38 34 40 43 38 41 42 32 28 45
May-01 41 39 43 39 41 44 42 41 43 38 41 42
Apr-01 44 47 43 47 53 30 45 43 45 43 43 48
Mar-01 44 42 46 44 46 44 47 42 46 42 42 47
Feb-01 49 50 48 47 55 42 47 50 51 43 43 54
Jan-01 50 51 49 53 55 43 50 50 52 46 52 50
Dec-00 53 50 54 50 68 44 54 52 54 48 48 56
Nov-00 46 42 48 46 51 43 46 46 46 45 46 48
Oct-00 45 43 45 50 46 39 43 46 45 44 41 50
Sep-00 48 47 48 45 55 47 50 45 51 42 46 50
Aug-00 43 42 43 40 46 45 44 41 44 41 39 47
Jul-00 40 43 38 44 39 37 39 41 43 36 42 41
Jun-00 38 37 39 39 42 37 37 40 43 33 39 42
May-00 43 48 40 48 47 36 41 45 46 41 44 43
Apr-00 39 41 38 40 47 33 36 42 44 30 35 44
Mar-00 38 37 39 38 48 32 37 40 40 35 38 39
More Results Return to Siena Research Institute Page


Last Updated on November 14, 2003
By Siena College
Email: legendziewic@siena.edu