By a clear majority, the city’s voters say empathy is the most important trait in the next mayor, far more important than temperament, management experience, or the ability to recruit new businesses, according to a new poll by The New York Times and Siena College.
Sixty-five percent of voters said that they wanted the next mayor to move the city in a new direction, even though a plurality approved of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s job performance, and, for the first time since 2005, a majority of voters said they believed the city’s economy was in good condition. The desire for change comes as the city’s four million voters prepare for the first mayoral election without an incumbent since 2001.