Politics on the Hudson

   A Marist College poll released today found that 71 percent of voters think state government needs major changes, and 18 percent think daily operations at the Capitol need minor changes. Eleven percent believe state government is broken and beyond repair, according to the poll.

   “Albany is not a good place for politicians right now,” Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Poll, said in a statement. “Voters are dissatisfied with how things are being run and want change.”

   While Paterson’s approval rating is 20 percent among registered voters, just 16 percent of them think the Senate is doing an excellent or good job and 48 percent think the it is performing poorly, the poll found. Forty-four percent said they would vote for the incumbent and 42 percent said they would pick a challenger.

   In the Assembly, 13 percent of voters approve of the job members are doing and 47 percent do not. Forty-four percent of voters said they would support the incumbent if the 2010 elections were held today and 43 percent said they would opt for a challenger, the poll said.

   Marist College surveyed 805 registered voters on Nov. 12, Nov. 16 and Nov. 17. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percent.