RELEASE: New Polling Shows, Even Before Indictments, New Yorkers Distrust Mayor Adams and Know Nothing About His Attempts to Revise the City Charter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Sept. 27, 2024
Media Contact: Kristine Mikkelsen, kmikkelsen@spitfirestrategies.com, 908.304-4869 

NEW YORK — A new Data for Progress survey, fielded in conjunction with No Power Grab NYC and commissioned by New Yorkers Defending Democracy from September 13-20 — before Mayor Eric Adams was indicted yesterday on five federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations — finds that likely voters in NYC have very negative impressions of Adams and see him as an ineffective leader.

Two-thirds of NYC voters (67%) disapprove of how Adams handles his duties as mayor. This includes majorities of Democrats (61%) and voters of color who are Asian (73%), Latino (61%), and Black (55%). 

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Similarly, NYC voters strongly distrust the mayor to do the following things:

• Run the city effectively (68% distrust)
• Prioritize everyday New Yorkers’ needs over his own interests (67% distrust)
• Speak truthfully about events, policies, and issues (65% distrust)
• Ensure the views of different NYC communities are reflected in policy (63% distrust)

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"New Yorkers overwhelmingly don’t trust Mayor Adams to run the city effectively, speak truthfully about policies or to prioritize the needs of New Yorkers over his own interests – and that was before he was indicted,” said Mark Winston Griffith, spokesperson for No Power Grab NYC. “It’s a disgrace that the mayor’s sham charter commission rubber-stamped Props 2-6 to be on the November ballot – the proposals would make permanent changes to New York City’s constitution that give more unchecked power to the current and future mayors, weaken checks and balances and take power away from everyday New Yorkers. We need to vote no on Props 2-6 so Mayor Adams doesn’t get away with this sneaky move that’s dangerous for democracy and bad for New Yorkers.”
 
The survey also asked NYC voters about Props 2-6, five proposals that will be on the ballot in November. The proposals, which were hastily added to New York City ballots this summer by Mayor Adams’ charter review commission with little input from New Yorkers, make major changes to New York City’s charter – essentially its constitution – by expanding the mayor’s power and eroding the local system of check and balances. 
 
After being provided this information, voters were asked: _How much have you heard, read, or seen about any of these ballot measures or the Charter Revision Commission that produced them?  Nearly 2 in 3 voters (65%) say they have heard “nothing at all” about the five ballot measures or the Charter Revision Commission. 

“Mayor Adams has looked out for his own interests and those of his close circle since taking office. New Yorkers knew this, even before he was indicted yesterday for corruption. So it’s no surprise he would try to slide five questions onto New Yorkers’ ballots with minimum process and input,” said Theo Oshiro, Co-Executive Director of Make the Road New York. “Propositions 2-6 are a Trojan Horse, they might seem innocuous but really represent a deeper intention to centralize power in the Mayor and his allies’ hands, at the expense of everyday New Yorkers. The fact that 65% of New Yorkers know nothing about these questions or the Charter Commission process that preceded it one month before early voting starts should be all they need to reject them. Vote no on 2-6 and stop the power grab!”
 
Additional findings:

• When voters are asked if they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Adams and several NYC agencies, 62% of voters say they view Adams unfavorably, including a majority of Democrats (57%) and a plurality of Black voters (49%). Only 26% of NYC voters view Adams favorably.
• Adams’ -36-point favorability rating is significantly worse than the ratings for the New York City Department of Corrections (-11), the City Council (+8), the NYPD (+14), and the Department of Sanitation (+57).

Read the full brief here.
 
Methodology
From September 13 to 20, 2024, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,421 likely voters in New York City using SMS and web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and 2020 recalled vote. This sample is also weighted to account for oversamples of 100 Black, 100 Latino, and 100 Asian voters, to ensure proportional representation of likely voters. The survey was conducted in English and Spanish. The margin of error associated with the sample size is ±2 percentage points. 
 
About No Power Grab NYC
No Power Grab NYC is a coalition of more than 50 local and national civil rights and community groups from every background and borough formed to defend democracy at the ballot this November. The coalition is calling on New Yorkers to vote “No” on Proposals 2-6 - the dangerous, undemocratic proposals that came out of Mayor Adams’ sham charter revision process. 
 
In May, just two months before the deadline to place charter changes on the ballot, Mayor Eric Adams hastily convened a charter revision commission to kick City Council legislation off the ballot. Every person appointed to the committee was one of the mayor’s staunchest allies, including his top political supporters, donors and lobbyists with pending business before the city. The language of the proposals were misleadingly crafted to seem innocent, but Props 2-6 make major changes to New York City’s constitution that will give the mayor more unchecked power, weaken checks-and-balances, and make it harder for the city to deliver for New Yorkers. 
 
For more information about the No Power Grab NYC coalition and why New Yorkers should Vote No on Props 2-6, visit https://www.nopowergrabnyc.org/.
 
About Data for Progress
Data for Progress is a progressive think tank and polling firm, which arms movements with data-driven tools to fight for a more equitable future. DFP provides polling, data-based messaging, and policy generation for the progressive movement, and advises campaigns and candidates with the tools they need to win. DFP polling is regularly cited by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and hundreds of other trusted news organizations.
 
Learn more at dataforprogress.org or follow DFP on Twitter at @dataprogress.
 
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