NYC Democrats Trade Blows in Final Debate Before Mayoral Election

MANHATTAN (CN) --- Held in-person at NBC’s legendary studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where “Saturday Night Live” is shot, the leading eight Democratic candidates for New York City mayor sparred one another during the two-hour debate on rising crime, affordable housing and police reform.

During a debate segment captioned "Worst Idea From Other Candidates,” the two candidates who have emerged as  frontrunners --- Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and entrepreneur Andrew Yang --- seized the opportunity to go for each other's throats.

Adams, a former police captain who also co-founded a leadership group for Black officers, has risen to the top of most polls as issues of crime and policing have dominated recent mayoral debates.

According to a survey results released Wednesday, Adams holds a sturdy 11-point lead in the Democratic primary for mayor, with 26% of likely Democratic voters. Yang trails Adams in second place with 15% support.

From the onset of segment, Yang quickly chided Adams for having once advised off-duty police officers to carry their guns to churches as a public safety measure as the worst idea from another candidate.

“I think it speaks for itself,” Yang said.

Adams responded by taking aim at Yang’s modified version of his signature universal basic income platform, which would give payments to the poorest New Yorkers.  

“It went from UBI that Mr. Yang had then it went to Borough Bucks,” Adams goaded.  “Then it went to Monopoly money, then it went to hope and prayer.”

Yang repeatedly dug at Adams during Wednesday’s debate by boasting his recent endorsement by the Captains Endowment Association, the NYPD union that once represented his chief rival in the mayoral race.

The final day of voting in the party’s primary election is June 22, with the top Democrat in the overwhelmingly Democratic city highly likely to win the November general election and succeed the term-limited Mayor Bill de Blasio.

None of the eight Democratic candidates at Wednesday’s debate said they would give de Blasio a job in their administration, when asked by moderators.

Tied in third place in recent polling are Kathryn Garcia, the former Sanitation Commissioner endorsed by the New York Times editorial board, and ex-city hall counsel Maya Wiley, with 11% support each.

Wiley, who recently won backing from progressive favorites Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, said the worst idea she’d heard from another candidate was Adams’ plan to bring back “stop-and-frisk” policing and revive the NYPD’s plainclothes anti-​crime unit that was disbanded last summer during reforms in the wake of nationwide civil rights reckoning following George Floyd's death.

Wiley called those tactics racist, unconstitutional and ineffective at preventing crime.

Garcia meanwhile made a point to distance herself from slogan and reform demand that emerged out of last summer’s protests and demonstrations.

“These are complicated times, and several of my opponents are using hashtags, #DefundthePolice,” she said. “I just don’t think that’s the right approach. You need to sit down and really think through these things.”

Ray McGuire, a Black former Citigroup executive, said he believes the progressive movement to defund the police “will end up in disaster for New Yorkers,” and asserted that “Black and brown communities” do not support the so-called defund movement.

Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive and longshot progressive liberal candidate in the race, told McGuire that he could not speak for minority communities.

“You don’t speak for Black and brown communities,” Morales, who identifies as “Brooklyn Boricua progressive” Afro-Latina, scolded McGuire. “How dare you assume to speak for Black and brown communities as a monolith,” charged Morales, who calls for the reallocation of $3 billion from the NYPD's overall budget.

“You know what, I just did,” McGuire retorted.

“It is not the truth for the community as a whole,” Morales contended.

“Black and brown communities do not want defund,” McGuire echoed.

“I am a member of that community, and you certainly are not speaking for me,” Morales replied.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer attacked Yang’s proposals to revitalize the city’s economy reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I have to say the two craziest ideas I heard was TikTok house for artists and a casino on Governors Island,” Stringer said. “It wasn’t a good idea,” he later added, noting that he still likes Yang personally.

The entire two-hour debate on Wednesday was streamed live online, with only the first half broadcast on NBC’s television stations, which switched to Olympic swim trials.

This year’s mayoral election will be the first to use ranked choice voting, with voters ranking up to five candidates.

Early voting in the city’s party primaries is already underway, beginning on Saturday, June 12^th and running through Sunday, June 20^th.

The Republican primary features Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime group, against Fernando Mateo, a Dominican-American restaurant owner and advocate for taxi drivers.

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