The first poll gauging Mayor Bill de Blasio’s approval rating brings some ill tidings for the progressive stalwart. Only 10% of voters think de Blasio is doing an “excellent” job, while 57% believe his term has been less than “good.”
The poll, from Marist University, The Wall Street Journal, and WNBC, finds something of buyer’s remorse among residents of a city that very recently elected de Blasio to its highest office. Only 39% of those polled would describe de Blasio’s work so far as “good” or “excellent.” In contrast, 37% of those polled described his work as “fair,” and 20% said de Blasio is doing poorly. The 57% assessment of his work as less than good is a far worse assessment than former Mayor Michael Bloomberg received around the same time in his tenure and far worse than the numbers de Blasio received on the way to winning his office. About 75% of New York City voters gave de Blasio their vote last autumn.
By all measures, use of the term “rocky” to describe the first months of the de Blasio era would be kind. The mayor has made enemies of everyone, from droves of crying children to beloved weatherman Al Roker. He has been described as a “campaigner-in-chief,” a “crazy,” and a figurative “drunk.” Being caught jaywalking and speeding by the New York Post after proposing safer streets legislation are two examples of how much de Blasio has alienated and confused the media. His own staffers seem to have no idea what they are supposed to be doing, anonymously complaining that “be progressive” is not an order that helps them know how to run the logistics of city government.
The results of such policies are predictable: two botched snow cleanups, angry parents protecting their children from everything from lower quality public schooling to snowstorms de Blasio made them brave, and the wrath of the state Democratic Party, which appears to have all but declared war on de Blasio’s education policy.
Meanwhile, The New York Times published blockbuster exposés on what really matters: a more accurate measurement of de Blasio’s height and a statistically insignificant crime drop due to unseasonably cold weather.
De Blasio has years to straighten himself out before even the Times turns on him. He is letting down not just the few conservatives who may reside in New York City and the entire middle class under his purview; he has triggered a backlash among progressives who find him a disorganized and untrustworthy leader–and the proof is in the polls.