We urge all New Yorkers (including non-Democrats) to watch the Democratic mayoral debate airing tonight on Ch. 4 at 7 p.m. While there will be too many contenders on the stage (nine) to have a truly focused discussion, it is the first time the leading candidate, Andrew Cuomo, will appear face-to-face with his rivals.
Hopefully the candidates will use this unfiltered opportunity to present their records and their plans in a more fulsome manner afforded than their 30-second TV ads blanketing our screens.
The Daily News and our colleagues in the press have been asking lots of questions and getting some answers which have been published, but voters deserve to hear directly from the men and women who would be mayor for the next four years.
From bringing down crime to building more housing to dealing with homelessness, mayors have a lot to do. They also run the schools and the rest of a massive government delivering services. Unlike a president or a governor, a mayor has to do much more than set priorities with their budgets.
Are the streets clean? Are the subways and streets safe? Does the clean water flow to 8 million people and is their wastewater pumped away? You have a problem? Take it to City Hall, even if it is not a city issue, like the running of the subways and the buses, tell it to the mayor. New Yorkers aren’t shy.
Even though this primary campaign has been bubbling since last fall, when Mayor Adams was hit with federal corruption charges, it has felt static, with Cuomo, as a former governor for more than decade, well ahead. Adams’ decision to skip the primary and focus on the general election in November has made the primary a referendum on a non-incumbent, Cuomo.
That could have been predicted, but the rise of Zohran Mamdani, a fairly junior assemblyman from Queens with few legislative accomplishments, was not predicted, apparently even by Mamdani. However, he has excelled at collecting the small contributions especially rewarded by the city Campaign Finance Board and has consistently placed second in public opinion polling.
Tonight will be a new test for Mamdani, facing more seasoned politicians like Cuomo, Brad Lander and Scott Stringer, the current and former city comptrollers, who won that citywide office in hard-fought primaries. Or maybe state Sen. Zellnor Myrie or Council Speaker Adrienne Adams can emerge as notable alternatives to Cuomo. Or maybe tonight will be a wash.
Or maybe something will happen next week, in the second debate.
A candidate debate is unlikely to radically change the trajectory of this primary. But, remember, it was only a year ago when Joe Biden and Donald Trump debated and ended Biden’s campaign.
We believe that all registered voters should be able to participate in primaries and ideally the Charter Revision Commission will put that good government concept on the November ballot for future years. But for now the Democratic mayoral nominee will be decided by those of the 3 million enrolled Democrats who opt to cast ballots this month (probably a very small number).
Watch the debate tonight and the one next week and make your choices.
