Hochul is a more ‘collaborative’ leader compared to Cuomo: poll

More than half of New York voters believe Gov. Kathy Hochul has shown she’s a “more collaborative” leader than her predecessor, disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned last month in the wake of a bombshell report accusing him of sexually harassing multiple women, including current and former staffers.

Fifty-two percent of registered voters agree the new governor has a more collaborative approach to government leadership compared to Cuomo, whereas 18 percent disagree, according to a new Siena College survey. 

Cuomo was widely known to have a tight inner circle of confidants, excluding Hochul from his cadre even though she served as his lieutenant governor for two terms. 

Hochul, meanwhile, has generously shared the limelight with her new number two, former state Sen. Brian Benjamin of Harlem, emphasizing the importance of government partnership with him as well as other elected officials and advocates during her first three weeks as the state’s chief executive. 

Seventy-four percent of voters agree it is exciting to have New York’s first woman governor, including 84 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of Republicans, according to the poll.

Forty-four percent of voters say Hochul has done an excellent or good job in her first few weeks, compared to 37 percent who say she has done a fair or poor job — and 18 percent either don’t know or have no opinion. 

Even though Hochul is viewed favorably by 42 percent of voters and unfavorably by 17 percent, 41 percent either don’t know her or don’t know enough about her to have an opinion.

Building up her name recognition and expanding her voter base downstate will be a challenge for the new governor as she heads into what’s expected to be a tough 2022 Democratic primary. 

“While still largely unknown to a wide swath of New Yorkers, Governor Hochul begins her tenure with a lot of good will from voters,” said Siena College pollster Steve Greenberg.

“Among those with an opinion about her, she is viewed strongly favorably, although two in five New Yorkers don’t yet have an opinion, despite Hochul having been lieutenant governor for six years and elected statewide twice,” he added. 

Sixty-seven percent of those polled agree that Cuomo should have resigned rather than stay in office, compared to 26 percent who prefer the latter. 

Another 45 percent favor barring him from running for higher office, whereas 40 percent of voters disagree with the notion. 

A report released Aug. 3 by state Attorney General Letitia James following a nearly six-month investigation found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women and that he and his top aides fostered a toxic work environment.

He announced he would step down on Aug. 10 following a two-week period, officially resigning from office on Aug. 24.

Voters think Cuomo did sexually harass women who worked for the state by a margin of 56 percent to 24 percent, with 20 percent either having no opinion or unsure. 

Seven hundred voters were surveyed between Sept. 7 and 12, with a plus/minus 4.2 percentage-point margin of error.