What Do You Think About Christie’s Policies And Proposals? [AUDIO]

Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie delivered his annual State of the State Address. He proposed a 10% state income tax cut for every Garden State resident phased in over the next three years and he talked about reclaiming the state’s inner cities.

The Governor touched also touched on proposals from last year that did not get done; education reform and eliminating huge end-of-career payouts to public employees for their unused sick time. A Quinnipiac University asked New Jersey voters their thought open some of Christie policies and proposals from 2011 and into 2012.

The survey also asked about Governor Chris Christie and some of his policies and proposals. By a 57 – 23% margin, Garden State voters have a favorable opinion of public school teachers, but they give the state’s largest teachers union a negative 29 – 44% score. They support 66 – 30% rewarding good teachers with extra pay, but also support 59 – 33% Christie’s proposal to limit teacher tenure.

Voters oppose school vouchers 49 – 44% and oppose charter schools 51 – 41%.

“Governor Christopher Christie, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg all are picking on the teachers union,” says poll director Mickey Carroll. “New Jerseyans like the people who teach their kids but don’t like their union. Merit pay and limits on tenure both win heavy support.”

New Jersey voters support 58 – 30% the so-called Millionaire’s Tax, with 75 – 14% support among Democrats and 61 – 29% support among independent voters. Republicans oppose the tax 52 – 33%. Having already famously vetoed it once, Christie opposes the Millionaire’s tax, but still voters approve 52 – 42% of the way the Governor is handling the New Jersey budget.

If the federal government overturns its ban New Jersey will jump into Internet gambling, but New Jersey voters oppose 52 – 41% legalizing online gaming. There is a big gender gap as men support online gambling 55 – 40% while women oppose it 64 – 28%. Opposition is 59 – 35% among Democrats and 52 – 43% among independent voters, while Republicans are divided 47 – 47%.

Carroll quips, “With women opposed more than 2-1, online gambling comes up craps in New Jersey.”

From January 10 – 16, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,460 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.