Ferrer, Ognibene Tear Into Absent Mayor

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The New York Sun

During the first official debate of the general election last night at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem, Mayor Bloomberg’s podium was empty, but that did not stop Democrat Fernando Ferrer and the long-shot Conservative Party candidate, Thomas Ognibene, from tearing into him.


While Messrs. Ferrer and Ognibene disagreed on the most fundamental policy issues, they both, almost as a team, directed their wrath toward Mr. Bloomberg as the audience cheered and booed as it often does during the “Showtime at the Apollo” program filmed at the venue.


Mr. Ognibene called the Republican mayor a “hypocrite” and a “coward.” In the middle of the debate, Mr. Ognibene, a former Republican minority leader in the City Council, reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a letter that he said was proof the mayor was trying to bar him from the debate.


When asked whether he would prefer Mr. Ferrer as mayor to a fellow Republican like Mr. Bloomberg, Mr. Ognibene said he would want to be elected himself. When pressed to choose, he said he’d “prefer to be home with my wife watching TV,” and then added that Mr. Ferrer was a “much more honest man.”


The debate capped off what was arguably the most bruising week of the campaign for Mr. Bloomberg. Since last Friday, when the mayor’s campaign announced that he would participate in only two debates and would not be at the Apollo, his opponents have been in attack mode and he has been dogged by questions about his decision to opt out.


Mr. Ferrer and his leading black supporters, including the Reverend Al Sharpton and Rep. Charles Rangel, painted the mayor’s decision to skip the debate as a snub and a slight to the city’s black community, which some consider the demographic group that is going to decide the election. They said all candidates should have to participate in debates, like last night’s, sponsored by the city’s Campaign Finance Board.


Mr. Bloomberg, who because he does not participate in its public matching funds program is not require to attend any of the board debates, said his decision had nothing to do with the location and was not a reflection of his relationship with the black community. He said his opponent in 2001, Democrat Mark Green, set the standard when he agreed to only two debates despite candidate Bloomberg’s efforts to get more.


Last night’s “lightning” round, when the candidates had to provide yes-or-no answers, provided some of the evening’s more interesting insights.


Mr. Ferrer said he had smoked marijuana. Mr. Ognibene said he had not. Mr. Ferrer agreed that teachers should be paid more than police officers. Mr. Ognibene said they should not. Both said they did not own an i-Pod. Both said yes when asked whether the death penalty was ever justified. They also said they had never been fired from a job.


The Bloomberg campaign took issue with several of Mr. Ferrer’s answers. A campaign spokesman, Stuart Loeser, said the Democrat had flip-flopped on his capital punishment stance five times since 1996. Mr. Loeser also said Mr. Ferrer had, in fact, been fired from a job at the city Human Rights Commission’s government compliance unit in 1975.


At another point in the lightning round when asked whether private schools were better than public schools, Mr. Ferrer said “no,” while Mr. Ognibene said “yes.” Both said they like Mr. Bloomberg personally and that they had never watched the hit program “Desperate Housewives.”


While Mr. Ferrer last night ramped up his attacks on the mayor, the most stinging criticism came from Mr. Ognibene, who said several recent decisions by Mr. Bloomberg, like the opening of a firehouse on the South Shore of Staten Island, resulted only from political pressure.


Mr. Bloomberg fought to avoid a primary with Mr. Ognibene by challenging the signatures the former Queens council member collected for the Republican ballot. Political analysts said that despite Mr. Ognibene’s low name recognition and lack of money, a GOP primary would have been damaging to Mr. Bloomberg because he would have been forced to appeal to both his base on the right while making sure he did not upset the Democrats he would need for the general election.


Mr. Ferrer took credit for prompting this week’s contract between the city and the United Federation of Teachers. He said that if Mr. Bloomberg had not been pressured by the campaign and the election, the teachers, who have been without a contract for three years, never would have gotten a deal.


He also said that he would support expanding rent regulation standards, he would perform same-sex marriages at City Hall, and Mr. Bloomberg had failed to build enough affordable housing.


During a radio appearance on WFAN’s “Imus in the Morning” show yesterday, Senator Schumer, a Democrat who has endorsed Mr. Ferrer, said it was probably a “mistake” for the may or to turn down the Apollo debate, but that every incumbent wants to have “as few debates as possible.”


“He goes to Harlem all the time,” Mr. Schumer said. “I don’t think he’s afraid to go to Harlem. I think he should have debated, but I don’t think he’s afraid to go to Harlem.”


Less than two hours before the debate, Mr. Bloomberg and his police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, announced that there had been a terrorist threat to the city’s subways. That became the headline story on many radio stations, bumping news that he skipped the debate.


The mayor is scheduled to attend two debates closer to the November 8 election, but Mr. Ognibene is not scheduled to be at either.


The New York Sun

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