In final NYC mayoral primary debate, Democratic candidates clash over policing, homelessness
In the final Democratic primary debate for mayor, the eight top contenders took to the stage at NBC in midtown Manhattan and squared off over public safety and how to tackle poverty and homelessness Wednesday night, delivering some of the sharpest attacks of the campaign yet.
Violent crime, which has been on the rise for a year now, remained a front-and-center issue, and the race’s frontrunner, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, continued to hammer away at it.
As the frontrunner, Adams has consistently taken heat from his opponents on his views, though, and Wednesday was no exception.
He and entrepreneur Andrew Yang came out swinging early on over what set them apart on policing.
Yang mocked Adams after winning an endorsement from the police union that represents him earlier this week and contested Adams’ claim that he had not sought endorsements from law enforcement unions.
Asked why voters concerned with an uptick in crime should pick him over the former cop, Yang pointed to the nod he received from the Captains Endowment Association.
“The people you should ask about this are Eric’s former colleagues in the police captains union,” Yang said. “They think I’m a better choice than Eric to keep us and our families safe, and the reason for this is they want someone honest as a partner who will actually follow through.”
Adams shot back that the CEA didn’t pick him because he didn’t ask for their endorsement — to which Yang responded: “You met with the lieutenants and you called the captains, Eric.”
When asked by the moderator if that was true, Adams responded: “No, it’s not.”
“Yes it is, Eric,” Yang responded.
“No, it’s not,” Adams said.
The debate — which NBC broadcast from its Saturday Night Live studio in Rockefeller Center — is the third in a series of three showdowns sanctioned by the city’s Campaign Finance Board and served as the final forum for the candidates to make their case to voters before June 22, the final day for voting.
Maya Wiley, Mayor de Blasio’s legal counsel who has surged in recent polls, also went after Adams for supporting stop and frisk and his plan to reconstitute the NYPD’s anti-crime unit to tackle gun crime —policies she described as “racist.”
Adams jabbed back, citing the fact that a private security patrol protects her block in Brooklyn and reiterating his position that he would use stop and frisk, but prohibit its abuse.
“I don’t and never will allow stop and frisk to be returned and abuse people,” he said.
Wiley came under attack too for her positions on policing, one of which is to strip the NYPD of $1 billion and apply that money to social services programs.
“I have been Black all my life,” she said, repeating a line she’s used several times during the campaign. “What we have the opportunity to do right now is to be smart about growing public safety.”
Wiley went on to say that the city is now hiring cops “to do the job of social workers ... to do the job of psychologists.”
But Ray McGuire, the former Citi executive who polls show has trailed in the single digits, didn’t appear to view Wiley’s plans as very smart. He attacked both she and Adams for their public safety proposals — asking Wiley pointedly how she would pay for her plan.
“It’s neither stop and frisk, nor is it defund,” he said, referring to Adam’s support of stop and frisk and Wiley’s calls to strip the police of funding.
Former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia also criticized plans to defund the police — though she did not call Wiley out by name.
“Several of my opponents are using hashtags, hashtag “defund the police” — I just don’t think that’s the right approach,” she said. “You need to sit down and really think through these things.”
Recent polls have consistently shown Adams leading the field, with Garcia, Wiley and Yang all within striking distance. A Marist poll conducted last week showed Adams ahead with 28% support from those surveyed, Garcia garnering 19%, Wiley with 17% and Yang with 15%. The other four candidates on the debate stage Wednesday night — city Comptroller Scott Stringer, former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, former non-profit exec Dianne Morales and McGuire — all trailed with numbers in the single digits, according to that poll.
When factoring in ranked-choice voting, the poll projected Adams as the winner with 56% and Garcia coming in second with 44%.
But a separate poll released Wednesday predicted a shift. That poll, conducted by Change Research from June 11-14, projected Garcia would come out on top 51% to 49% once ranked-choice is accounted for.
The candidates’ relative proximity in the polls is likely one reason why their rhetoric became so heated Wednesday night. But it wasn’t just the top four candidates trading barbs.
The candidates toward the back of the pack also tried to make up ground with attacks of their own.
Stringer, who dipped in polls after two women accused him of sexual harassment — charges he’s denied — went after Yang for his basic income plan, which would provide a stipend to poor New Yorkers, as well as his plan to tackle street homelessness.
Yang described a woman in Hell’s Kitchen who was punched in the face by a homeless man and said the issues the street homeless pose are driving New Yorkers from the city.
“Families are leaving,” Yang said. “I’m going to rebuild the stock of psych beds in our city because the number has gone down 14 percent. It should be going up 100 percent.”
Stringer then chimed in: “That is the greatest non-answer I’ve ever heard in all of our debates.”
“Not one specific idea, not one specific plan,” he said. “How much is this going to cost?”
Garcia said she would focus on building 50,000 units of affordable housing and 10,000 units of supportive housing to address the problem.
“We also need to increase the voucher that the city gives to people to something close to the market,” she said.
All the candidates agreed on one thing, though. When asked if they would offer Mayor de Blasio a job in their administration if elected, each candidate said no.
Check out our special section for the latest news on the critical 2021 elections in NYC. And to have the essential news and analysis sent to your inbox, sign up for our Campaign Diaries newsletter.
