Schumer and Townsend Debate Issues

Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer and his Republican challenger Jay Townsend met in their only debate of the campaign Sunday at Marist College in the Town of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County.

The two men poked and prodded each other verbally over issues ranging from education to health care to property taxes.

The debate was shown statewide on NY1 and YNN cable channels. It was moderated by Pat Kiernan, NY1's morning anchor. Asking questions were Liz Benjamin of NY1, Juan Manuel Benitez of NY1 Noticias and Bobby Cuza of NY1.

Schumer, 59, is seeking a third term in the U.S. Senate. He was born in Brooklyn and attended Harvard Law School. Schumer spent six years as a state Assemblyman and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1980 to 1998. He still lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Iris Weinshall, and their two daughters. Schumer serves as chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Townsend, 56, lives in Cornwall, Orange County, with his wife, Rebecca, and their sons. He is a marketing research and communications consultant. Townsend defeated Tea Party movement-backed Gary Berntsen in the Sept. 14 primary to be on the Republican Party ballot line. He was born in Indiana, but has lived for the last 30 years in New York.

Giving the first opening statement, Townsend said the Obama-Pelosi-Schumer agenda is not working for New York.

"Tonight one million New Yorkers will go to bed without a job," he said. "For every dollar we send to the federal government, we get less than 80 cents back."

Townsend blamed unfunded mandates he said Schumer supported for the state having the highest property taxes in the nation.

"My message to you is, if you are tired of having your pocket picked and your dreams denied and your children forced to leave New York, I should be your choice for United States Senate," he said.

Schumer said he was running for re-election because he believed in New York and its middle class.

"We've had some tough times, we know that," he said, "but I believe that by working together we can overcome them."

One goal of his is to force China to stop undervaluing its currency and bring thousands of manufacturing jobs to upstate New York.

"Together we can make sure every young man and woman who deserves to be in college can afford to be in college by enhancing the $2,500 tuition tax credit that I wrote into law," Schumer said.

He also wants to make the state an innovator of technology, such as hydrogen-based fuel cells, computer chip fabrication and high-energy physics, "each of which will spawn hundreds of companies that will throw off thousands and thousands of jobs for ourselves and even more importantly for our children."

Benjamin asked Schumer if politics played a role in his pursuit of regulations on Wall Street, which is one of the chief economic engines in the state.

"When Wall Street is wrong you have to go after it, and that is what I did," Schumer said. He said he was one of the first to say mortgage and mortgage brokers should be regulated.

"These two things are what caused the crisis and had they been corrected, the crisis would have been much less," he said.

Townsend said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were out of control

"The cancer which caused the housing crisis was spawned in the bowls of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Townsend said, adding that Schumer's bill did not do anything about either of those two agencies.

Benitez asked Townsend if public school teachers should be graded and the results posted publicly.

"The taxpayers pay the salaries," Townsend said. "They are entitled to know how the teachers are doing. I don't know how you make them better when there is no accountability."

Schumer said he believes in openness, and that performance matters, but would hesitate to implement a system when it is uncertain what is written in the teachers' records.

"We need to look at this, make sure that it's fair, and then we should be able to make names public, but only after deliberative discussion," he said, "not in a rush to judgment."

"For the record," Townsend said, "Chuck Schumer just sided with the New York public teachers union."

The so-called ground zero mosque was a topic at the debate.

Schumer said he was not opposed to it from the beginning, but preferred to work toward things that could have a productive effect, such as taking care of health issues for first responders after the 9/11 attacks in lower Manhattan.

Townsend opposes the construction of the facility near ground zero.

"I believe it is offensive and insensitive to the families," he said. Townsend said he wasn't denying the right to build near ground zero. "I just don't think they should do it."

Townsend advocates for the repeal of the health care bill.

"We were promised health insurance premiums would come down, and they are skyrocketing," he said. "There are better ways to reform health care than the way it was done, rammed through in the middle of the night."

"It will work," Schumer said. "It hasn't really gone into effect yet."

He said there have been improvements, but right now there is very little competition.

"The No. 1 thing in 2014 is we will finally get a hold on the costs," Schumer said.

Schumer went into the debate 28 percentage points ahead of Townsend, according to a Marist Poll released Friday.

The senator received the support of 63 percent of likely and early voters and those who are undecided but leaning toward a candidate, while Townsend had 35 percent. Another 1 percent planned to vote for someone else, and 1 percent in undecided.

Schumer's numbers are up from September when 59 percent of likely voters and those undecided and leaning toward a candidate supported him. Townsend polled at 38 percent.

In all regions, Schumer leads Townsend, the Marist Poll said. In New York City, Schumer had 80 percent support, with 17 percent behind Townsend. In the city suburbs, 59 percent are behind Schumer and 40 percent say they will vote for Townsend. Schumer receives 58 percent of upstate support, with 40 percent voting for Townsend.

Among Tea Party supporters, Townsend is the clear favorite, with 74 percent saying they will vote for him or are undecided and leaning toward him. Schumer has only 22 percent support from Tea Partiers.