By MARK TOOR
Specific proposals that would solve existing problems were scarce, but civility was even scarcer during the Oct. 23 gubernatorial debate.
Governor Cuomo repeatedly spoke over both his opponent, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, and one of the moderators, WCBS correspondent Marcia Kramer, during the hour-long debate. Following his campaign strategy of running against President Trump, he worked hard to link his opponent to him.
Trump’s ‘Mini-Me’
The Governor, who was more than 20 points ahead in two recent polls, called his opponent “an acolyte of Donald Trump, a mini-me of Donald Trump.” When Mr. Molinaro said he opposed the provision of Mr. Trump’s tax law that would cap deductions for state and local taxes, Mr. Cuomo asked him four times, “Do you support Donald Trump?”
“Today, under this President and this Federal Government, America has the most competitive economy in the world, and New York State lags behind,” Mr. Molinaro said, defending Mr. Trump while avoiding a declaration of support.
“Then say it: ‘I support Donald Trump,’ ” Mr. Cuomo crowed. “Just tell the truth. Just say ‘I support Donald Trump.’ ”
He told Mr. Molinaro it was disingenuous to support the tax bill but oppose the deduction limit. “You can’t support half a bill,” he said. “You know that.”
Mr. Molinaro reminded Mr. Cuomo that he had taken $60,000 in donations from Mr. Trump over the years and that his law firm had represented Mr. Trump’s businesses while his father, Mario Cuomo, was Governor.
‘A Fiscal Fraud’
To Mr. Molinaro’s claim that he reduced taxes 30 percent over five years, Mr. Cuomo said, “You call yourself a fiscal conservative. You’re a fiscal fraud.”
“You’ve interrupted me every time I’ve spoken, sir,” the challenger said about 40 minutes into the debate.
Ten minutes later, he asked Mr. Cuomo, “When are you going to stop lying? Your description of my life and record is so dishonest that it’s absolutely shameful.”
After the debate, he said, “At the end of the day, I don’t think New Yorkers saw a Governor. I thought they saw a bully."
Mr. Molinaro attacked Mr. Cuomo on high taxes and state spending, the troubled Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the corruption convictions of close associates.
Tax Problems
Asked about high taxes, Mt. Cuomo said, “The formula is simple: If you want to lose weight, eat less. It’s just hard to do it…What we have done over the past seven years, Marcia, is we have cut state spending to the lowest increases in modern political history. Our increases are now down to two percent.”
He said the real problem was property taxes, which collectively raise three times as much as the state income tax. It’s up to local governments to control those taxes, he said.
“Governor, were that only true,” Mr. Molinaro said. “In fact, your budgets have increased spending at about an annual rate of four percent each year. So despite the fact you continue to suggest you’ve been able to hold to two percent, you haven’t. And what you’ve talked about in trying to drive down local property taxes is dishonest.”
He blamed unfunded state mandates for property-tax increases, saying, “This state forces more state spending onto local-property-taxpayers than any state in the country.”
‘Most Corrupted’
He told Mr. Cuomo, “You have led the most corrupted state government in America. Eight people have gone to jail…You have allowed individuals in this administration to defraud taxpayers.” He cited in particular Joseph Percoco, the Governor's former top aide, who Mr. Molinaro noted while on leave to run his 2014 re-election campaign illegally made "800 phone calls from your very office."
Mr. Cuomo counterattacked, referring to a letter from eight Dutchess County legislators asking for an investigation of contracts awarded to a local business that employed Mr. Molinaro’s wife and contributed to his campaign fund.
“Meanwhile, you're the one who's been called on for an investigation for a kickback that went into your pocket,” Mr. Cuomo said. “And that's a crime, my friend.” Mr. Molinaro denied any wrongdoing.
The Governor said that Federal prosecutors in the corruption cases involving his associates had cleared him of any involvement, describing the activities of his aides as a “mistake.”
Too Cozy With Unions?
On the MTA, Mr. Cuomo was asked about allegations of featherbedding by unions and out-of-control construction costs. “Obviously there’s going to be waste and fraud, but we can do better,” he said.
He added, “I have no problem angering a union. There have been unions that have been mad at me for seven years.”
Further, he said, “I have no problem taking on the MTA. I have no problem ducking responsibility. You have never seen a Governor take more responsibility for the MTA than I have.” He complained that the de Blasio administration and the State Legislature were both reluctant to come up with money to improve the transit system.
Mr. Molinaro responded, “The Governor has abandoned responsibility for the MTA and we’ve seen it in a total death spiral over the course of the last several years, with on-time rates declining, with those with disabilities not being able to access subway platforms, we see the continued delay.”
'Can't Just Cut Fraud'
He alluded to unions that he said had severely inflated the cost of laying track in the subways, and said that cutting waste and fraud would provide money to fix the transit system.
“You’re not going to find the money in just cutting waste and fraud,” Mr. Cuomo scoffed. “It’s $30 billion,” one estimate of the amount it would take to fix the subways. He disputed Mr. Molinaro’s assertion that since “you declared a state of emergency to solve the problem, it’s gotten progressively worse.”
The Republican challenger also criticized Mr. Cuomo on the subject of parole, mentioning the recent release of cop-killers—including Herman Bell, who helped execute two police officers in 1971—and an executive order restoring voting rights to parolees.
“If my opponent makes a factual statement, it’s by mistake,” Mr. Cuomo replied. “I did disagree with the parole board’s release of Herman Bell.” He said that under law the parole board operated independently and claimed that convicts released on parole had paid their debt to society.
Hostile to Women, Gays?
Mr. Cuomo sought to portray his opponent as hostile to women and gays. “The extreme conservative wing that Mr. Molinaro and Mr. Trump represent exclude everything,” he said. “They’re anti-women. They're anti-LGBTQ.” He added that while he was a State Assemblyman, his opponent had voted against a bill prohibiting women prisoners delivering babies from being shackled.
Mr. Molinaro took his own shots on the subject, referring to an investigation at the Department of Criminal Justice Services in which two women who gave information to an Inspector General were punished. “With all due respect, sir, when women spoke up in your administration regarding sexual harassment, you fired one woman and put the other in a closet,” he said. “Don’t lecture me about women’s rights.”
One of the few areas of agreement was charter schools, which both candidates support.
Mr. Cuomo said he would negotiate the issue with Mayor de Blasio, a foe of both charters and himself.
“I will sit down and we will have a bottle of wine, the Mayor and I,” he said. “We’re gonna break bread, we’re gonna have a plate of pasta.”