New Yorkers have spoken - overwhelming support for Ray Kelly to stay on as NYPD boss

Commissioner remains tight-lipped over his plans for 2014 but finds the confidence expressed encouraging

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New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly

Photo by Reuters

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New York Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly, has the highest approval rating ever, the latest poll has revealed.

Both Democrat and Republican New York voters would prefer that he remains on in his position under the next mayor, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.

Some 75 percent of respondents said they approved of Kelly’s job performance. While 63 percent of those surveyed said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who promises to keep Kelly on as commissioner.

Read More: Christine Quinn vows to keep Ray Kelly as commissioner if elected NYC mayor

“The poll numbers say that Kelly is a tremendously popular police commissioner,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

“Voters said that they like the idea of bringing Kelly back, and if a candidate says that they are going to reappoint Kelly, this would be a plus.”

Among the mayoral candidates, Christine Quinn is the only mayoral hopeful that has hinted she intends to keep Kelly, who is currently in his final year as commissioner under Mayor Bloomberg.

The City Council speaker, Quinn, recently said the city “would be lucky” if Kelly stayed on.

Kelly, a registered independent who is the only commissioner to serve two terms, has kept quiet about his future plans.

Responding to the poll results, Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the NYPD told the New York Times, “As encouraging as this latest poll is in terms of the confidence expressed in him and in the Police Department, it’s also problematic in fanning speculation that he had hoped had been quieted.”

From January 8th to 14th, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,332 New York City voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

Read More: In NYC Mayoral race, Irish American Christine Quinn holds lead in money and poll
 

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