Green Attacks in Debate: ‘Andrew, You’re Running for Wrong Office’

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

The four Democratic candidates for state attorney general went head-to-head last night in a heated debate that was marked with personal and fierce jabs between the frontrunner, Andrew Cuomo, and his closest challenger, Mark Green.

Mr. Green, a former city public advocate, used the debate to launch his strongest attacks yet and attempted to provoke Mr. Cuomo at every turn.

Mr. Cuomo, meanwhile, defended his record as President Clinton’s housing secretary. He tried to rise about the fray by redirecting the conversation to his accomplishments and painting Mr. Green as persistent thorn, who has been agitating his political opponents for years.

“Andrew, you’re running for the wrong office because governor wasn’t open,” Mr. Green said. Mr. Cuomo’s rebuttal: “Mark Green has been attacking people for many years in politics.”

The two other candidates, Sean Patrick Maloney, a former Clinton aide, and Charles King, who served under Mr. Cuomo at the federal Housing and Urban Development Department, also made digs at the frontrunner.

Mr. Maloney, who has tried to position himself as a young independent, said: “I don’t think Andrew is the best candidate for the job. I’m not even sure if he’s the second best.” He then joked that “U.N. peacekeepers” were needed to keep the Messrs. Green and Cuomo under control and he equated the two men to his own little girls bickering in the back of the car.

But, the hour-long debate, which was broadcast on NY1 in the city and in other parts of the state, was the first chance that voters had to see the candidates answering policy questions and to see their personalities on full display.

All tried to closely align themselves closely with the current attorney general and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Eliot Spitzer, with Mr. King even going so far as to say that he and Mr. Spitzer were born three days apart.

Mr. Green’s most pointed exchange with Mr. Cuomo came when he took aim at his record at HUD. He said Mr. Spitzer had sued over HUD’s failure to curb pesticide use. Mr. Cuomo said he was overseeing a massive agency that was recognized by several outside entities, including Harvard. He said the agency accomplished a lot, but that no agency could solve every problem.

All four candidates said they would get tougher on Medicaid fraud and said that Mr. Spitzer — who has been criticized for neglecting the area while focusing on Wall Street crackdowns — would have needed more cooperation from Governor Pataki and the state Health Department to make serious headway.

Messrs. Cuomo, Green, and King all expressed outright opposition to the death penalty, while Mr. Maloney said he was the only candidate on stage who believes Osama bin Laden should “be put to death.”

When one of the panelists asked Mr. Cuomo the last time he had prosecuted a case in court he said that the year was 1984, but said that the attorney general’s job did not require courtroom time as much as it did managing a staff of hundreds of attorneys. That he said he did at HUD.

In the “lightening round,” all said they did not aspire to be governor, though Mr. Cuomo, who ran and dropped out in 2002 and whose father was governor, hesitated briefly. All but Mr. King said public employees should not be able to legally strike.

The most recent public opinion polls show that 45% of primary voters support Mr. Cuomo, 27% support Mr. Green, and 3% support both Messrs. Maloney and King. The winner of the September 12 primary will face Republican Jeanine Pirro in November’s general election. And, campaign finance records show that Mr. Cuomo, who has the backing of many unions and political leaders, has raised $6.9 million compared to Mr. Green’s $3 million, Mr. King’s $3 million, and Mr. Maloney’s $1.7 million.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use