Mayor Bloomberg's approval rating at lowest in more than 4 years: poll

Mayor Bloomberg's approval rating has fallen to its lowest point in the last 4-1/2 years - just one of the elected officials to feel the wrath of New York voters.

Voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, support Bloomberg's plan to balance the budget by freezing city workers' wages, but are mixed on his push to trim city services instead of raising taxes.

Just 43% of voters would raise taxes to balance the budget, down 10 points from a year ago.

About 45% would cut services, up 6 points from a year earlier. While 63% of voters would support a wage freeze, 63% are also opposed to laying off city workers.

Bloomberg's proposed budget eliminates raises for most city workers, and lays off 834 of them.

Just 61% of New Yorkers surveyed approve of the job Bloomberg is doing, down from 67% in September and 75% in October 2008.

The last time he was at that level was July 2005, when he had a 60% approval rating heading into his first re-election bid.

Bloomberg won re-election last fall by a 4.4-point margin, and said he was hurt by the same anti-incumbent sentiment that has tossed pols from office around the country.

Quinnipiac pollster Mickey Carroll said the voter dissatisfaction is real - and Bloomberg has suffered from it.

"For Mayor Mike, 60 is the new 70," Carroll said. "The man who cruised through his second term with 70 percent approval ratings should be happy if he can stay above 60 percent in his third term."

Other city leaders don't even fare that well.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has a 44% approval rating after four years of running the Council.

New Controller John Liu also is at 44%, and new Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has 37%.

Controversial schools Chancellor Joel Klein is the only one in the poll more loathed than loved: 39% of voters approve of the job he's doing, and 40% disapprove.

The declines mirror a similar decline for President Obama, whose approval rating in the five boroughs is 72% - an enviable number for other pols, but the lowest since he took office.