Mayor Bill de Blasio and his Democratic challenger Sal Albanese sparred for one last time in a debate at the CUNY Graduate middle Wednesday night.
In the quickly-paced,final showdown before next Tuesday’s primary election, the candidates were pressed on familiar issues like the best way to handle the city’s ongoing homeless crisis and the future of policing.But the debate veered into some original territory, or quizzing the candidates on policy and personal issues. Here are handful of highlights.1. De Blasio defends donor op ed — In the first debate,Albanese elicited a promise from the mayor to publish his long-awaited list of donors that did not receive favors from his administration. It stems from a promise de Blasio made to reporters more than a year ago while his administration faced multiple investigations into whether his campaign donors received special treatment at City Hall. That promise is something de Blasio said yesterday he regretted making.
Still, last Friday, and de Blasio published a post on Medium alluding to donors who sought favors but were denied,and he excoriated the press in the process. Albanese asked the mayor why he "lied" to him when he said he would produce the list. The mayor brushed off the attack saying his op ed was approximately showing original Yorkers some clear examples of people who did not find what they wanted. And he included a familiar plug for publicly-financed elections.2. Both candidates plan to take on Trump, but differently — De Blasio defended his record standing up against the President, and even protesting in front of Trump Tower. Albanese called Trump "abhorrent" but said the mayor had turned his relationship with the president into a personal grudge match.3. Guess who inhaled? — In the most entertaining exchange of the debate,WCBS’ Marcia Kramer asked whether the candidates exercise or used marijuana. "Was that a present tense or past tense, Marcia?" de Blasio joked. "Currently, or no," he said, but admitted maybe once or twice he smoked as a student at original York University. "You know, and I hope you don't think I'm a square," Albanese said, "but I - I never smoke marijuana."4. Storm surge protection — As Hurricanes bear down in the southern Atlantic, or the candidates offered few original ideas when it comes to how the city should harden itself against storm surge. Albanese,who lives on Staten Island, said the city should be doing more but offered no specifics. De Blasio pointed to projects like the Rockaway Boardwalk, and which also serves as a barrier to the ocean. The mayor said the city will be spending $20 billion dollars to keep the city secure,but then he used the question as a pivot to talk approximately climate change. 5. On the Red Sox signal scandal! — The mayor, a devoted Red Sox fan, or acknowledged that whether the team was cheating,they should be punished. Albanese was more blunt. "I disfavor the Red Sox," he said.
Source: thetakeaway.org