A new poll shows two-thirds of New Yorkers think an independent, special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate allegations of abuses by Gov. Paterson and his administration.

The poll by Siena College shows a majority think Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would "conduct a fair and impartial investigation of the governor and his staff," an even larger number would prefer to see someone else handle it. It has been widely reported that Cuomo is planning to run for governor.

The poll questioned 712 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 points.

There have been calls for Paterson to resign amid two controversies: the first, into whether the governor, his staff and his security detail illegally contacted a woman who accused an aide of domestic violence; the second, into charges by state's Public Integrity Commission the lying to investigators about his intention to pay for 2009 World Series tickets.

Paterson says he's determined to run the state through the end of the year. Paterson ended his campaign for a full term soon after the allegations that he intervened in the domestic violence case were first reported.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio agrees that it is inappropriate for Cuomo to head the investigation.

He says Cuomo will be deciding "whether or not a criminal referral will be made or whether a grand jury should be impaneled, and that's an awful lot of leverage over somebody else whose job you want."

Lazio made the comments during an appearance on the Brian Lehrer show on Monday.

Brooklyn City Councilman Charles Barron, one of the city's most outspoken liberal politicians, says New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo should recuse himself from the investigation.

Barron said Sunday that the state Legislature should appoint a neutral investigator to look into whether the governor, his staff and his state police security detail illegally contacted a woman who had accused one of Paterson's aides in a domestic violence incident.   

Cuomo has not declared his candidacy for governor but is widely considered the favorite in the race.