Many New York City voters and the GOP want Commissioner Ray Kelly as mayor

City's GOP pols hope to see Commissioner's hat in the ring

Larger Text

Print

E-mail

7 Comments

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly

Photo by Reuters

Tweet

Nearly half say he’d be fair or poor at improving the quality of education, with just 32% saying he’d have a positive impact. New Yorkers also have strong concerns about his ability to improve health care, hold the line on taxes and balance the city budget.

'It’s not a slam dunk, but presumably if he spoke about those issues, he could of course be a very serious contender,' Schoen said. Kelly, according to the poll, trails City Council Speaker Christine Quinn by a 49%-to-36% margin, with 15% not sure.

Kelly’s age doesn’t seem to concern voters. Nearly 80% said it would not affect their decision on how to vote, while 17% said it would make them less likely to support him for mayor.

Encouraged by their own soundings the city's top GOP officials are reportedly gearing up for a draft Kelly effort, although Cox said he has no plans to speak with the Commissioner at present. Meanwhile Kelly has told the press he is flattered by all the speculation, but he is not considering a mayoral run at this point. Close observers expect him to change that outlook quickly should he decide he wants to run.

Print

E-mail

Tweet