City Councilmen Eric Gioia (D−Sunnyside) and John Liu (D−Flushing) are not faring well against their challengers for the soon−to−be−vacated public advocate seat, according to a recent Marist poll.
Just 6 percent of the 827 registered voters contacted by the Marist Polling Institute in the Feb. 23 poll said they would vote for Liu to succeed incumbent Betsy Gotbaum, while just 2 percent said they would vote for Gioia.
Former Public Advocate Mark Green leads all candidates early on in the race, taking in 35 percent of the city registered voters polled. State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV (D−Manhattan) received 15 percent of the vote, while civil rights leader Norman Siegel was preferred by 14 percent of those polled.
Councilman Bill de Blasio (D−Brooklyn), meanwhile, tied Liu with 6 percent of those polled, the results showed.
Despite the poor showing, 22 percent of those polled said they were unsure of who they would vote for if the election was held today. Neither of the Queens candidates has formally announced his campaign, although Liu has registered for a run with the city Campaign Finance Board and Gioia has long said he was eyeing the citywide office.
— Stephen Stirling
