Syracuse University students and supporters for many gubernatorial candidates crowded around the street by WTVH, the CBS affiliate in Syracuse, where the debate for New York State governor took place Sunday.

Six of the seven candidates for governor participated in the event — Republican Governor George E. Pataki, Democratic Comptroller H. Carl McCall, Independence Party candidate Tom Galisano, Stanley Aronowitz of the Green Party, Libertarian Party’s Scott Jeffery, and Marijuana Reform Party candidate Thomas Leighton.

Moderators Matt Mulcahy and Maureen Green posed questions requiring one-minute responses, with no opening statements or rebuttles. Mulcahy and Green’s questions focused on jobs, property taxes, upstate urban education, the state deficit, state mandates, maintaining industry, the Rockefeller drug laws, and state grants.

Several times candidates ignored the focus of the questions, instead taking shots at one another.

Golisano challenged Pataki about accusations that the Pataki campaign accepted campaign contributions in return for paroles. A Pataki aide denied the claims. Eric Mullen, Golisano’s media consultant, said The New York Times, The New York Post and the New York Daily News had substantiated the parole claims.

Mullen began arguing with the Pataki aide, and said two parole board employees went to jail for their part in the parole scandal. He then questioned the aide on what part of the accusation constituted a lie if court documents could prove such convictions.

“It is a despicable lie,” the Pataki aide said. “You should be embarrassed and ashamed of yourself.”

Pataki said that he felt Golisano’s comments were uncalled for.

“He crossed the line with comments he knew were wrong,” Pataki said. “They are wrong and he should be embarrassed, but it’s two weeks before an election.”

Pataki added that he would not fire his parole chief, because Golisano’s claims were untrue.

McCall brought up two scandals of the Pataki administration in addition to Golisano’s.

“The governor had been dodging and ducking these important issues,” McCall said. “We have the scandal of corrections officers being coerced to do work, being coerced by a chief who is on the Pataki payroll and we have the scandal of the federal government coming in and looking at our nursing homes and the fact that people are being locked up in nursing homes.”

Aronowitz said he thought he knew why there so many personal attacks occured during the debate.

“One of the reasons we are focusing on each other’s corruptions as the minor party is because its all true,” Aronowitz said.

SU men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim joined Pataki after the debate, when the governor fielded questions from the press. Pataki had acknowledged Boeheim at the beginning of the debate.

McCall challenged Pataki to another debate next Saturday in New York City between Pataki, McCall and Golisano and citing the reason Sunday’s debate did not allow for enough time to fully discuss issues. At the conclusion, Pataki said that he would participate in the debate next Saturday but also go around the state campaigning.

“I think (Pataki) is afraid to be in any forum where he will need to explain and accept the responsibility and accountability for the failures of his administration,” McCall said.

Pataki said he thought the debate went well and was proud of the future for New York State with “centers of excellence” and education reform.

“I don’t know how the governor can be proud that this administration has failed the people of the State of New York,” McCall said.

Roslyn Cosale, a senior television, radio and film major and the SU Carl McCall campus coordinator, agreed with her candidate about Pataki’s unwillingness to debate McCall and Golisano.

“I think it is cowardly,” Cosale said.

The question about the Rockefeller drug laws brought the legalization of marijuana into the debate.

“I myself am a pot smoker,” said Jeffery. “There are millions of pot smokers in the state.”

Leighton cited its importance not only for medical uses but also for the state’s economic position to legalize marijuana.

“We must allow upstate farmers to grow hemp and save farms,” Leighton said.

Aronowitz on the importance of saving farms and complained that much of the job growth reported by Pataki was low wage jobs.

“Tom Leighton is half right,” Aronowitz said. “We have to grow hemp but we also have to grow food.”

Pataki said during his time in office, 600,000 new jobs had been created, and that he would not repeal the Rockerfeller laws. However, he agreed that they needed reforming.

McCall said many young people must leave New York to find jobs, and the Rockerfeller laws need of change but have not changed because of Pataki’s lack of leadership.

“Without leadership we are stagnant,” McCall said.

The economy another major issue in the debate. Moderators asked candidates about high property taxes and and businesses leaving upstate New York.

Golisano brought up the the issue of campaign finance reform.

“Did we have people in your (Pataki) administration indicted for selling paroles who still work in the campaign?” Golisano said. “Money is corruptive.”

Pataki said business has grown in New York, and that he is fighting for every single job.

McCall disagreed and said, “We have not been fighting to keep jobs.”

Many SU students participated in rallies before and after the debate to support their candidates.

Ben Davidson, a senior television, radio and film major and President of the SU campus Greens, said that he felt the candidates from smaller parties addressed the issues more and abstained from personal attacks.

“I thought it was great that the minority candidates were represented,” Davidson said.

Matt Ng, a junior broadcast journalism major and New York College Republicans central vice-chairman, said the atmosphere at the debate was exciting and it was important to discuss issues about Upstate New York.

“I think the debate was pretty informative,” Ng said.

Ng said he and some other students lined the sidewalk as Pataki approached the studio.

“It was nuts,” Ng said. “It felt like I was at a big time southern university walking to a pep rally or something.”

One of the biggest topics of the debate was its setup and format.

Several times during the debate McCall criticized the 60-second time limit allotted to answer questions along with the selection of the candidates involved, something that did not unnoticed by Aronowitz.

“McCall wants to debate with Pataki and no one else at this table,” Aronowitz said.

“You’re right,” McCall added.

Published on October 20, 2002 at 12:00 pm