LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — The vast majority of New Yorkers feel bail reform needs serious work, and Governor Hochul is in the driver's seat to remain New York's governor.
According to a new Siena College poll, 56% of voters say bail reform law has been bad for New York State, and 64% say bail reform has resulted in crime increase. 82% say judges need to be given more discretion, but 56% say they're concerned giving those judges more discretion to set bail will result in poor people and people of color being unfairly incarcerated.
The poll presents a major shift in opinion from when bail reform was first passed in April 2019.
Immediately after it was first passed, 55% of voters thought bail reform would be good in New York State, but by January 2020, a majority of 49% said bail reform is bad for the state.
With the Democratic primary for Governor three months away, Siena College is also finding Governor Hochul is in the lead to have her name on the ticket as the Democratic nominee for governor.
Among registered Democrats, Governor Hochul has a 40 point lead over both New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Rep. Tom Suozzi. However, if former Governor Andrew Cuomo runs in the primary, Hochul has 38% of the vote, compared to 30% for Cuomo, 10% for Suozzi and 7% for Williams.
The poll also found 67% of all voters don't think Cuomo should run for governor in 2022, 18% said he should run in the Democratic primary, and 10% say he should run as an independent in November. The filing deadline to run for the Democratic ticket is April 7.
Another item the poll found most New Yorkers support is the state suspending its gas tax as prices remain high: 70% of people support suspending the state gas tax while just 24% did not. Suspending the tax would result in a $0.16-per-gallon savings for drivers. Prices are still averaging around $4.35 per gallon around the state.
