By Phil Corso
Half of New York voters want Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) to step down as state Assembly speaker because of the way he handled a sexual harassment scandal, a recent Quinnipiac University poll showed.
Silver has been in the spotlight since he used $130,070 in taxpayer money to confidentially settle harassment claims made against now former Assemblyman Vito Lopez, of Brooklyn, leading to his resignation.
“The Vito Lopez sex scandal persuades a bare majority of New Yorkers that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver should step aside,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “A lot of voters say get rid of the pack of them; there should be a legislative house-cleaning.”
The study found 57 percent of Republicans wanted Silver to throw in the towel, while 53 percent of independents and only 45 percent of Democrats wanted him to step down. The strongest sentiments throughout the state in favor of Silver splitting came from New York City, where 50 percent thought he should leave his post as speaker.
Voters also gave Gov. Andrew Cuomo a mediocre job approval at 53 percent, the poll said. The number was his lowest net approval rating since taking office.
Just more than half of those polled — 58 percent — said Cuomo deserved re-election in 2014, the results showed.
Some of the poll’s most overwhelming results showed that 67 percent of state voters thought the government in Albany was dysfunctional, and 49 percent said it was up to Cuomo to clean up the corruption.
The results come in the wake of several political corruption scandals involving Queens elected officials and lawmakers from other parts of the city with offenses stemming from bribery, harassment and mishandling of taxpayer money.
Lopez resigned last month in the midst of a heated scandal accusing him of sexually harassing two of his female aides.
That was why 58 percent of voters said they would rather not have their daughter work as an intern in the state Legislature, the study showed. The poll said 68 percent of voters with children under 18 years old did not want their daughters anywhere near Albany.
“With all the stories about the bad behavior in Albany, would you want your daughter to be a legislative intern? A majority of voters say no,” Carroll said.
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
