Candidates Spar, Yell Through 2nd NYC Mayoral Debate

NEW YORK CITY — New Yorkers who missed the second Democratic mayoral debate can turn to its moderator Bill Ritter's words.

“There was a lot of yelling unfortunately,” he said one hour into the two-hour debate Wednesday.

Eight top-tier candidates — Eric Adams, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Ray McGuire, Dianne Morales, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley and Andrew Yang — spent their first in-person debate often sniping at each other and trying to eke out time to highlight their platforms.

Together, Adams and Yang attracted the lion's share — but by no means all — of attacks from fellow candidates and sharp questions from moderators.

They also went after each other in a tense, tit-for-tat exchange. Adams blasted Yang's perceived inexperience and leaving the city during the coronavirus crisis.

"You can't run from the city if you want to run the city," Adams said.

Yang, in turn, went after Adams' record.

"Eric, we all know that you've been investigated for corruption everywhere you've gone," Yang said.

And so much of the debate unfolded.

The debate began with a pointed question about crime. Debate panelist Dave Evans pointed out as he spoke that there were 573 shooting so far this year, while many candidates have called for cutting back or outright defunding police.

Candidates quickly began taking rhetorical shots at each other.

Stringer called Wiley a "rubber stamp" for the Police Benevolent Association during her tenure with a civilian review board. But his attack on Adams, who he claimed proposed an effective return to "stop-and-frisk," prompted a breezy response recounting his own career as a police reformer within the NYPD.

“This is an Anthony Fauci moment,” Adams said. “Imagine 20 years from now someone said, ‘Hey, Anthony you did nothing for COVID.”

Garcia, who a recent poll placed as the frontrunner, managed to avoid the harsh attacks. She spent her time highlighting her record and plans, such as on dealing with violence.

"We have gone from a pandemic of COVID to an epidemic of gun violence,” she said. “We have to use every tool in toolbox, so yes, I want to buy back guns because that is potentially a life saved. But I also want to make investments in the gun suppression unit and really dig into the data.”

Other candidates like Donovan, McGuire, Morales and Wiley tried to highlight their own plans. Donovan, for instance, spoke about his time within the Obama administration and his plan to issue $1,000 equity bonds to New York City children that could yield $50,000 for jobs or education.

What all but Yang agreed upon is that they don't want the endorsement from the mayor they hope to succeed: Bill de Blasio.

Most candidates praised de Blasio's pre-K for all initiative but gave him low or failing grades for his overall mayoralty.

Yang, who polls as a frontrunner, said he'd give de Blasio an "incomplete."

"There's still time, Bill, not to squander all of the federal money before one of us gets in there," Yang said. "You can still do the right thing."

Yang's budget-related callout actually came after he sharply criticized de Blasio. Indeed, he prompted a flurry of yelling by highlighting a projected $5.3 billion budget deficit in 2023.

Stringer, amid the ruckus, said Yang doesn’t know what he’s talking about — a frequent criticism by his opponents.

“I think you’re a Republican who continues to focus on the issues that will not bring back the economy,” Stringer said.