20/20 Vision: NYers Choose Giuliani As Best Mayor Of Last Two Decades
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New Yorkers surveyed in an exclusive NY1-Marist College poll say Rudolph Giuliani was the best mayor the city has had over the last two decades, and they expect a woman to be running City Hall at some point in the next two decades. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report. In the aftermath of the September 11th terror attacks, Rudolph Giuliani was dubbed "America's mayor." But New Yorkers still embrace him as one of their own.
An exclusive NY1-Marist College poll shows New Yorkers think Giuliani was the best mayor the city has had over the last 20 years. He bested Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor David Dinkins for the honor. Giuliani's leadership in the wake of the attacks may have helped land him on top.
"That legacy is part of who he was as mayor and who he still is today," says Marist College pollster Lee Miringoff.
Among those surveyed, 43 percent say Giuliani was the city's best recent mayor. About 34 percent say Bloomberg is number one and only 15 percent say former Mayor David Dinkins deserves the distinction. [There is a margin of error +/- 4 percentage points.]
Giuliani beat the competition in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Manhattan was the only borough to give Bloomberg the highest marks.
"Bloomberg, as the current mayor, gets some of the downside of things going on today," says Miringoff.
Among white New Yorkers, 53 percent like Giuliani best, compared to 35 percent liking Bloomberg and 9 percent preferring Dinkins. [There is a margin of error +/- 6.4 percentage points.]
African-Americans are more divided, with 34 percent choosing Bloomberg as the top mayor, followed by 31 percent liking Dinkins and 29 percent choosing Giuliani. African American residents [There is a margin of error +/- 8.5 percentage points.]
This last finding is somewhat startling, given that Dinkins was the city's first African-American mayor. He lost to Giuliani in 1993 after one term in office.
As for other New York City political firsts, NY1 asked New Yorkers whether they think it is likely a woman will be mayor in the next 20 years. An overwhelming 83 percent say it is likely or very likely to happen, while 14 percent say it is not very likely or not likely at all. [There is a margin of error +/- 4 percentage points.]
Those figures could bode well for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, as she is positioning herself for a mayoral run in 2013. If Quinn wins, she would be the first woman to run City Hall and she would be the first openly gay mayor to lead the city as well.