More voters support Gov. Cuomo’s plan to fund universal pre-K classes through the state budget than Mayor de Blasio’s proposal to tax the rich in New York City, a new poll shows.
The results of the Quinnipiac University survey is a setback for de Blasio, who claims he has a voter mandate to hike income taxes to advance his early education agenda.
The survey released Wednesday found that 47 percent of voters statewide back Cuomo’s method, compared to 37 percent for de Blasio’s plan.
Even in New York City, voters went with Cuomo over de Blasio by 49-40 percent.
“Just about everyone in this most liberal of states likes universal pre-kindergarten and they think — overwhelmingly — that kids will learn and that it will help them out of poverty,” said Quinniac polling director Maurice Carroll.
“But voters prefer Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s no-new taxes approach to New York City Mayor de Blasio’s tax-the-rich plan to pay for those new classes.”
De Blasio argues that an jncome tax increase on those making more than $500,000 provides a mores stable revenue source.
But his plan requires approval in Albany, where Cuomo and state lawmakers face re-election this year and are not eager to raise taxes.
“It will be interesting to see how a mayor elected with a huge margin of a small turnout fares with up-for-election state officials,” Carroll said.
Pollsters interviewed 1,488 voters statewide. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.