Poll: Strong opposition to lawmaker raises

ALBANY -- More than two-thirds of New Yorkers oppose a pay raise for state lawmakers and the governor, a new poll finds.

A Siena College poll of registered voters released yesterday found 67 percent of respondents oppose a raise for members of the State Legislature and 74 percent oppose a pay raise for the governor.

New York lawmakers haven't had a raise in more than 10 years. Their base pay is $79,500 a year for what is considered a part-time job. The governor's base salary is $179,000.

The poll also found:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is viewed favorably by 74 percent of voters and unfavorably by 18 percent.

Fifty-three percent of voters are prepared to re-elect U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, compared with 27 percent who would prefer someone else.

Siena pollsters called 807 registered voters statewide last week. The poll has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.4 percentage points.