Despite Poll, AG Hopefuls Try To Make Their Case
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
With only 12 days to go until primary day, the five Democratic candidates for state attorney general took part in yet another debate Thursday, even though a new poll shows it doesn't appear the public is paying much attention. NY1's Bobby Cuza filed the following report.After months of nonstop campaigning and countless debates, it's clear Democratic voters are still unfamiliar with the five candidates for attorney general.
A new Quinnipiac University poll released this week found 77 percent don't know who they will vote for in the primary; eight percent named someone not on the ballot. That's despite the candidates' best efforts to capitalize on public disgust with Albany.
"When the public is upset, when the public is willing to vote people out of office if they don't do their job, that's the moment for reform. That's the moment we have to seize on. This is a great time for an attorney general who will fight for social justice," said Candidate for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
"Our state government is badly broken and we need an attorney general who can fix it, who has the independence, the legal skills and the determination to go up there and be an agent of change," said Candidate for Attorney General Sean Coffey.
During Thursday's debate at NYU, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice touted her law enforcement experience, and attacked rivals Senator Eric Schneiderman and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky for not doing more to reform Albany from the inside.
"The next attorney general needs to be an outsider, someone who doesn't have the inherent conflicts of trying to push for reform among their ex colleagues that they weren't
willing to push for when they were there," Rice said.
For the most part, all five have staked out traditionally liberal positions on issues like immigration. All lined up, for instance, to attack Arizona's controversial immigration law.
"I would find a New York State resident who owns a vacation home there and sue on that person's behalf," said Candidate for Attorney General Eric Dinallo.
Brodsky, though, has broken ranks in suggesting the decision to locate an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site is, in his words, tearing at the social fabric.
"You can be a supporter of building the facility without being a terrorist. You can think it outta be moved without being a bigot," Brodsky said.
The race is expected to heat up even more over the next couple of weeks. New Yorkers can also expect to see a lot of TV ads and mailers, as the candidates try to win over those 77 percent of undecided Democrats between now and September 14.