Nine Democratic candidates for New York City mayor faced off on Wednesday evening in the first of two debates ahead of this month’s primary election.
Held without a live audience, the two-hour debate focused on issues facing New York City, including housing, affordability, crime, policing, public safety and how each candidate would handle the Trump administration if elected.
From the outset, the two frontrunners, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Queens assemblyman and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, sparred over their records.
Mamdani, who has seen a recent surge in popularity, accused Cuomo of being beholden to wealthy donors and corporate interests, adding that he cared more about the “1%”, “the billionaires and the profitable corporations”, than “working-class New Yorkers.”
“The difference between myself and Andrew Cuomo is that my campaign is not funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in DC,” Mamdani said.
Cuomo, who is mounting a political comeback after resigning from office in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations, dismissed 33-year-old Mamdani as inexperienced.
“He’s been in government 27 minutes,” Cuomo said. If Mamdani were elected mayor, Cuomo added, Trump would go through him like a “hot knife through butter”.
The crowded debate stage also featured Adrienne Adams, speaker of the New York city council; Brad Lander, the current New York City comptroller; Scott Stringer, the former comptroller; Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman from the Bronx; Zellnor Myrie, a Brooklyn state senator; Jessica Ramos, a Queens state senator; and Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund manager.
Cuomo was a frequent target throughout the night, with candidates launching attacks at his record, criticizing his handling of nursing home deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic and the sexual harassment allegations.
A 2021 report by the New York attorney general found that the Cuomo administration undercounted thousands of deaths of state nursing home residents during the pandemic.
On Wednesday, Cuomo defended his record and declared that nursing home deaths were not, in fact, undercounted.
He also defended himself against the harassment claims, saying: “The report was done. Nothing has come out of it.”
New York City’s current mayor, Eric Adams, was also frequently criticized on the debate stage despite not being there. Adams announced earlier this year that he would seek re-election as an independent candidate although he ran as a Democrat in 2021.
At one point, when asked about their biggest political regrets, city council speaker Adrienne Adams replied: “My biggest regret is believing that Eric Adams would be a good mayor for all New Yorkers.”
Mandani said: “As a Democrat, one of my regrets is having trusted the leaders within our own party, leaders like Andrew Cuomo.”
When Cuomo answered “the state of the Democratic party”, Adrienne Adams went on the attack. “No personal regrets?” she asked. “No regrets when it comes to cutting Medicaid or healthcare? No regrets when it comes to slow-walking PPE and vaccinations in the season of Covid to Black and brown communities? Really, no regrets?”
Cuomo pushed back, calling her claims “inaccurate” and saying that “Medicaid went up under me”.
Wednesday’s debate marked the first of two scheduled Democratic primary debates before the primary election later this month. The second debate is set for 12 June.
The Democratic primary election will be held on 24 June, with early voting beginning 10 days earlier, on 14 June. New Yorkers will cast their votes using ranked-choice ballots, allowing them to select up to five candidates in order of preference.
The general mayoral election is scheduled for 4 November.
