Jump to the main section.

albany mayoral primary poll city aspects

Picking through that Siena poll on the Albany mayoral Democratic primary

Thumbnail image for sheehan ellis side by sideA few bits from the Siena/YNN poll of the Albany Democratic mayoral primary:

+ When asked for whom Democratic respondents would vote for today, Kathy Sheehan led Corey Ellis 54-23, with 23 percent undecided. 85 percent of respondents said there was either "no chance" they would change their mind or it was unlikely.

+ When asked which candidate would do a better job on a series of issues, Sheehan led Ellis in every issue -- with the largest margins for economic development (50-19) and keeping city taxes under control (50-18) and "capitalizing on the Hudson River waterfront as an Albany asset" (49-14). Ellis was closest on fighting crime (39-26) and addressing neighborhood concerns (40-32).

+ 57 percent of respondents said they support term limits for mayor.

+ 71 percent of respondents said they had a favorable opinion of Jerry Jennings. And 66 percent said they rate his job as mayor as either good or excellent.

+ 51 percent said they believe the city is on the right track.

+ The poll also asked people's opinions on a handful of aspects of the city. The answers point to some disparities between how African-American and white residents perceive and experience the quality of things like the condition of parks and roads, and the job done by police. A graph of responses is after the jump.

The poll did not ask people about non-Democratic candidates.

Crosstabs. The margin of error for the poll was +/- 3.2 percentage points and +/- 3.8 percentage points for Democrats only.

Update: YNN talked with Sheehan and Ellis about the poll results and some of the issues mentioned.

The primary is September 10. Considering the fact that the city is overwhelmingly Democratic by enrollment, the primary is pretty much the de facto election. And last time around, only about 14,000 people cast a vote in the mayoral primary. So it's worth doing some research and voting, if you can -- because your vote really could matter. That's especially true in Common Council primaries, where seats are sometimes won by fewer than 20 votes.


The graph and a table are above in wide format -- scroll all the way up.

Comments

Will there be any debates between the candidates and if so can you help to get the word out about when/where? I found that attending the debates for the NYS Senate and Assembly seats really helped me to decide but it was really hard to find information about when and where they were being held. Thanks!

I echo Sharon in wanting to know where and when debates are being held, in advance please. Apparently there was one a few weeks ago in my New Scotland/Whitehall neighborhood on the topic of services for seniors and aging in place (a topic of interest to me for future reference) and I have no idea how that debate got publicized.

By the way, I was one of the people who got called in the Siena poll. My answers were split between Sheehan and Ellis on the issues they were strong on so I don't know how they interpreted that in the results. On primary day I'm inclined to go against my alleged voter profile (older white woman in conservative 8th ward) and vote for Ellis because of his focus on neighborhood quality of life.

Hi there. Comments have been closed for this item. Still have something to say? Contact us.

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

Recently on All Over Albany

Thank you!

When we started AOA a decade ago we had no idea what was going to happen. And it turned out better than we could have... (more)

Let's stay in touch

This all feels like the last day of camp or something. And we're going to miss you all so much. But we'd like to stay... (more)

A few things I think about this place

Working on AOA over the past decade has been a life-changing experience for me and it's shaped the way I think about so many things.... (more)

Albany tightened its rules for shoveling snowy sidewalks last winter -- so how'd that work out?

If winter ever gets its act together and drops more snow on us, there will be sidewalks to shovel. And shortly after that, Albany will... (more)

Tea with Jack McEneny

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with Jack McEneny -- former state Assemblyman, unofficial Albany historian, and genuinely nice guy.... (more)

Recent Comments

My three year old son absolutely loving riding the train around Huck Finn's (Hoffman's) Playland this summer.

Thank you!

...has 27 comments, most recently from Ashley

Let's stay in touch

...has 4 comments, most recently from mg

A look inside 2 Judson Street

...has 3 comments, most recently from Diane (Agans) Boyle

Everything changes: Alicia Lea

...has 2 comments, most recently from Chaz Boyark

A few things I think about this place

...has 13 comments, most recently from Katherine