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But 44 percent of New Jerseyans approve of governor
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
New Jerseyans are split virtually right down the middle when it comes to their opinions of Gov. Chris Christie, with 44 percent approving of the way he is handling his job and 42 percent disapproving, according to a new Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll made public Tuesday.
But the 42 percent disapproval rating is up 10 percentage points from March 30. And those with mixed views declined by 10 points to 15 percent from 25 percent. The 44 percent approval rating is essentially unchanged from 43 percent reported on March 30.
More than a third, 37 percent, rate the job Christie is doing as "good" or "excellent," similar to 34 percent in the March 30 poll. But another one-third, 33 percent, rates his job performance as "poor," an increase of 12 points.
Those rating him as "only fair" declined to 23 percent from 31 percent, and those unsure declined to 7 percent from 14 percent.
"The spam is hitting the fan," Peter Woolley, a political scientist and poll director, said of the poll. "As the breadth and depth of the budget cuts becomes known, people have hardened in their opinions."Christie's legislative nemeses are largely unknown: four of five, 81 percent, have not heard, or have no opinion, of Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and 95 percent have not heard, or have no opinion, of Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Oliver).
Meanwhile, public employee households disapprove of the governor by a margin of 58 to 33 percent, and non-public employee households approve by 48 to 36 percent. Overall, 23 percent approve "strongly" and 28 percent disapprove "strongly."
Half of public employee households, 50 percent, rate the governor's performance as "poor," compared to just one quarter of all other households, 27 percent. And 43 percent of public employee households report they've heard "a great deal" about the governor's proposed budget compared to 24 percent of other households.
Likewise, Justice John Wallace and court nominee Anne Patterson, the subjects of Trenton controversy for the governor, are off the radar screen of most voters. However, Newark's Democratic mayor, Cory Booker, stands out with a favorable rating of 42 percent compared to 6 percent unfavorable.
Three of five voters, 60 percent, continue to say the state should hold the line on spending even if many programs are reduced, while just a quarter, 23 percent, say the state should raise taxes if necessary and continue to support state programs.
Asked about limiting public employees to accruing no more than two years vacation time, 74 percent say it's a good idea, while 23 percent say it's a bad idea. Three of five, 60 percent, also say it's a good idea to cap public employee salary increases at 2.5 percent, though public employee households split evenly on the question 46 to 46 percent.
Similarly, 61 percent say it's a good idea to raise the retirement age for public employees to 65 years of age from 62, while 33 percent disagree, and public employees split again 45 to 51 percent.
By a two-to-one margin, 64 percent to 31 percent, voters say it's a good idea to ask school teachers not to take a pay increase for the coming year, and public employee households agree, 57 to 36 percent. And a majority, 53 percent, says it's a good idea to move school elections to November from April, while 18 percent disagree.
Two of five, or 41 percent, of New Jerseyans, say taking everything into account, the governor's proposed budget is "good for New Jersey" unchanged from March 30 after the governor made many of his proposals known, while about the same proportion, 37 percent, say it's bad, up seven points from March.
The percentage of New Jerseyans who say the state is moving in the right direction, 35 percent, is essentially unchanged, as is the percentage of voters who say the state is on the wrong track, 55 percent.
The poll of 654 registered voters statewide was conducted by telephone from Wednesday to Sunday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
