Dear Commons Community,

New York City voters, by a large margin, are planning to support Bill de Blasio for mayor next month according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released today. With the election just a month away, on Nov. 5, Mr. de Blasio held a commanding lead of 68 percent to 19 percent among likely voters.

However, the same voters want to keep Raymond W. Kelly as police commissioner. They want more charter schools. And nearly half of them support the Police Department’s use of the stop-and-frisk tactic.  All positions that Bill de Blasio promises to change if elected.  As reported in the New York Times, Mr. de blasio’s appeal comes from the fact that:

“By almost four to one, voters thought that he would do a better job than Mr. Lhota in improving public education. By almost three to one, they supported Mr. de Blasio’s proposal to increase taxes on high-earners to finance an expansion of prekindergarten education. And by almost two to one, they believed that Mr. de Blasio, not Mr. Lhota, would keep the city safe from crime or a terrorist attack or during a natural disaster….

And a majority of voters suggested that they want the next mayor to prioritize reducing the gap between rich and poor, a key plank for Mr. de Blasio, rather than to create a climate that would reduce taxes and regulation to sustain job growth, something emphasized by Mr. Lhota.”

While anything can happen, Joseph Lhota has a huge hill to climb to get elected while Bill de Blasio has to keep doing what he has been doing.

Tony