ALBANY — More than half of upstate New Yorkers remain steadfast in their view that the state is on the wrong track, although almost half maintain a favorable opinion of Gov. David A. Paterson.
In a poll released Monday by the Siena Research Institute, 53 percent of upstaters surveyed said the state is moving in the wrong direction, down from 59 percent who responded that way in April.
Meanwhile, Gov. Paterson is viewed favorably by 49 percent of upstaters, the same percentage he earned in April, while only 14 percent have a negative opinion of the governor. Yet more than one-third of upstate respondents, 35 percent, say they don't know enough about the new governor to have an opinion of him.
Five percent of upstaters say Gov. Paterson, who took office March 17, is doing an "excellent" job, 40 percent rate him at "good," 27 percent say "fair" and 4 percent give him a "poor" rating.
The debate over pay raises for various public officials hit the headlines in early April when Judith S. Kaye, chief judge of the state Court of Appeals, filed a lawsuit seeking a pay raise. The state's judges, whose annual base salary is $136,700, have not had a pay increase since 1999.
Nonetheless, upstate voters overwhelmingly oppose, by 69 percent to 28 percent, raising judges' salaries. Likewise, upstaters oppose raising the governor's base pay ($179,000), 77 percent to 20 percent, as well as that of state legislators ($79,500), 67 percent to 30 percent.
Gasoline prices either have hit or are rapidly approaching the $4-per-gallon mark throughout upstate New York. Fifty-nine percent of upstaters surveyed say this is having a "very serious" effect on their financial situations, while another 29 percent say the impact is "somewhat serious."
Sixty-one percent of upstate voters indicated support for a proposal to eliminate 32 cents per gallon of the state's fuel taxes between the Memorial and Labor Day holidays. Thirty-eight percent oppose the idea.
The poll was conducted via phone calls to 622 registered voters throughout New York between May 12 and May 15. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. The poll defines "upstate" as all of New York state north of Putnam and Dutchess counties.
