ALBANY – Another poll out this morning shows a majority of voters ready to give Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver the boot over the way he handled sexual harassment claims against pervy ex-pol Vito Lopez.
Fifty-two percent voters think Silver should step down, according to a Siena College Poll of New York voters released today. They say he “failed the people of New York and the women who worked for Lopez by not addressing the issue appropriately and by not being completely honest.”
“A majority of Republicans and independents, downstate suburbanites and upstaters, men and women, and a plurality of Democrats and New York City voters believe Speaker Silver should step down,” said Sienna pollster Steven Greenberg.
A Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this month had similar findings.
The Sienna poll shows Silver with three-to-one negative job performance rating.
Last month, the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics released a scathing report showing that as many as eight female staffers claimed they were sexually harassed by Lopez, a majority after Silver approved a $103,000 secret taxpayer settlement with the first two accusers that required the women to keep quiet.
Voters are also displeased with Gov. Cuomo, who has seen record low job approval numbers in recent months. His favorability rating of 58 is down from 64 percent last month, marking his lowest showing since taking office. Only half of voters approve of the job he’s doing.
A plurality of voters from every region, party and demographic group, believe passing laws to address corruption should be the top priority for Cuomo and lawmakers as the Legislative session nears an end this week.
This Siena College Poll of 804 New York State registered voters was conducted June 9 – 13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
bdefalco@nypost.com