NYC Mayoral Debate Liveblog: Michael Bloomberg v. Bill Thompson

It’s debate night in New York City. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will engage in loquacious pugilism with the man running to unseat him, NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson. For many, this debate will be the first time people get to see and hear Bill Thompson outside of a Mike Bloomberg attack ad. I for one am very interested to see if Thompson is as incompetent and dangerous as Bloomberg has lead me to believe.

The debate is being televised on New York 1. I’ll be liveblogging the whole thing for those who are too busy to sit still for an entire hour of local news coverage. The New York Times has done an excellent job telling people what to watch for. Apparently Bloomberg has an Al Gore-esque sighing problem, while Thompson likes to ask himself rhetorical questions in the third person which he then answers. Will Elie enjoy watching these two go at each other for an hour? Yes!

Check back around 6:30 p.m. (or, you know, Wednesday morning) for my instant reaction, analysis, and hyperbole on the two men who think they are better than the other 8 million New Yorkers.

6:34: I’m coming to you live from my hovel on the Upper East Side. I’ve got a spread that includes a four pack of Red Bull and a handle of vodka — just in case things get boring.

My wife is still at work (somebody has to wear pants around here). But I’m joined by Isabel the Lhasa Apso. She’s already made her first contribution to tonight’s festivities by producing a week-old pizza crust from her pizza crust stash behind the Rock Band drum set. It should be an exciting night.

6:48: A note on tonight’s moderator, New York 1’s chief political reporter Dominic Carter. Some people don’t like Carter, but I do. On a good day he’s kind of like a poor man’s Tim Russert. He asks “everyman” questions that are buttressed with a good command of the relevant issues. On a bad day, he’s a little bit like Harold Zidler from the Moulin Rouge. I could see him saying “If you can, can run for office in NYC, then you must talk, talk to MMMEEEEeeee!”

Carter’s signature move is the “lightening round,” where he asks local politicians a series of questions they have no intention of answering. But he does it really quickly, adding a sense of drama where there shouldn’t be. I hope he brings it out for tonight’s debate: “Bloomberg, have you ever done pot? Cocaine? LSD? What do you like in a woman? How much could you have spent to run for President?”

6:54: Pre-debate predictions. Thompson will leave undecideds saying “interesting, but I want to learn more.” These people will in turn make no effort to learn anything more about Thompson before the next debate on October 27th. Bloomberg will leave people saying “Jesus, that man is pompous. But I feel totally safe giving him 4 more years to rule over the city with an iron fist. Wait a minute …”

6:58: Jeez, NY1. It’s minutes before your signature event and you’re running a story on health care options for immigrant women. Haven’t you guys ever heard of a teaser?

7:02: Here we go. It’s already a good start for Bill Thompson. He’s being filmed by NY1’s HD cameras, which is a major upgrade from the iPhone clips in his commercials. For Bloomberg local news coverage is a downgrade, you can barely see the golden glow off of his expensive suit.

7:04: Audience interruption one. Some guy is screaming about term limits during Bloomberg’s opening statements. Bloomberg had to stop while the guy was escorted out. After Carter apologized for the audience outburst, Bloomberg responds “Not a problem, this is New York.” I love this town.

7:05: Thompson uses his opening statement to call Bloomberg his “republican opponent.” Everybody, please remember, Thompson is a DEMOCRAT. I’m not sure if begging for partisan politics is the way to go … but it is a strategy.

7:08: Carter asks Bloomberg about the negative tone of the Mayor’s campaign ads. Bloomberg says that he’s not going negative. Then he pivots to slamming Thompson over education. Thompson used to run the Department of Education. Bloomberg essentially abolished the Dept. of Ed. and took it over. Schools are better now. You’ll hear this a lot tonight.

7:11: Thompson tries to defend his record on schools saying “nobody was in control of the schools in the past.” Bloomberg asks, “well, why didn’t you try to take control of them then.” Now he’s saying that if he had the control that the Mayor has now, he would do a better job. Something tells me that Bloomberg is going to say “I am doing it now. I am in control. I’m a winner. I win.”

7:12: Bloomberg: “You don’t get a medal for rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. And that’s what he did.” I was close.

7:14: Now we are getting to term limits. This is Bloomberg’s biggest weakness by far. Bloomberg said that he would support term limits. And he did support term limits. Until he was term limited out, at which point he stopped supporting term limits. Thompson makes the point well.

7:17: Bloomberg’s response was essentially: “things got bad, people wanted me to run again. If you really want term limits, vote for the other guy. I’m rich, I don’t care.” Bloomberg was asked if he was the “indispensable man.” He said no, but he meant yes. “Vote for my opponent or vote for me,” he said. But he just promised not to run for a fourth term. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice …

7:20: One of the NY1 panelists asked Bloomberg if it was right that teachers’ salaries have gone up by 45% since Bloomberg took office. Really? Who the hell begrudges a teachers’ salary? Teachers are already woefully underpaid. Both Bloomberg and Thompson answer this question well, but why ask it? I hope this guys kids have woefully underpaid teachers who are bitter and angry about it.

7:24: The Latino panelist asks Thompson why there are so few Latinos in the Comptroller’s office. Latinos and Asians are woefully underrepresented in NYC politics. Thompson says that Latinos have been well represented in his administration. Thompson is wrong.

Bloomberg decided to answer the question in Spanish. The whole question! Like a minute long answer in Spanish. Not a single English word. Carter had to ask him to restate it in English. Ha. That was awesome. Point Hizzoner.

Later, he says that people shouldn’t be discriminated against based on what language they speak. Yes, I believe him.

7:28: This is a great question. Michael Scotto from NY1 points out a serious key in Bloomberg’s administation. Bloomberg gives a lot to charity. He’s rich. But the thing is that he gives all this money to charitable organizations that used to get city funding. Bloomberg’s cut the funding, but the organizations don’t bitch because Bloomberg is personally cutting them a huge check. It is a great way to run the city, but it’s totally under the table.

Bloomberg just said that the organizations “don’t even know where the money comes from.” That is BS! Has anybody ever given you money? Don’t you know exactly who they are? Is there any chance that you would get money from somebody and then not know who it was from. Great question, BS answer.

7:31: Thompson’s problem here is that he has to take money from special interests. Scotto asks if he is in the pocket of these special interests. Now Thompson is saying that Bloomberg should be “ashamed” for questioning his character. That’s really the only place Thompson can go with this issue. I mean, Bloomberg doesn’t give a crap, but it’s Thompson’s only out.

7:37: Lightening round time! Each candidate can only answer “yes” or “no.”

Would Giuliani be a good Governor. Bloomberg, Yes, Thompson, no. Bloomberg got booed there.

Public Option? Thompson and Bloomy, Yes.

Roman Polanski in prison? Both Yes.

Does a Big Mac have more than 600 calories? No and No. Goddamnit Carter, WTF?

Do you consider a family worth more than $1M to be rich? Both said yes but Bloomberg is lying.

Bloomberg’s never had a pedicure or a manicure.

Has President Obama done enough for gays? Bloomberg, No. Thompson, Yes. That is interesting! Because, you know, the answer is clearly NO. What is it with black people and gay rights?

7:39: Now the two have an opportunity to ask each other questions. Thompson wastes his on asking Bloomberg about why he’s flipped parties eighteen hundred times. What a waste. This partisan hacking isn’t going to work against Bloomberg. Fernando Ferrera already tried this.

Bloomberg: “I will support people of either party that vote for things that are right for New York City … that is exactly what I should be doing.”

7:41: A zoning question from Brain Leher! I love local politics.

7:45: Bloomberg believes that his zoning policies allow for slow growth. Thompson believes it’s caused gentrification. But Thompson is also talking about issues that have more to do with the recession than the zoning polices. As my wife just said “this guy barely knows what he is talking about … annoying.” My wife, as usual, is correct.

Now Bloomberg is saying nice things about Staten Island. Waste of breath, Staten Island hasn’t voted for a black man since … ever.

7:47: Now Thompson is talking about the high water rates. Back door property taxes. Bloomberg points out (correctly) that the state and the court system has forced this on NYC. Either way, water rates suck in this city — according to my landlord every time he raises my freaking rent.

7:50: Now we are onto racial profiling, through the lens of the “stop and frisk” policies of NYPD.  Thompson has been in favor of stop and frisk laws. The stats are ridiculous in terms of how stop and frisk “happens” to affect black men most of all. He’s trying to backtrack now, but he’s not coming out and saying “racial profiling is WRONG.” If he’s not going to say it, I promise you Bloomberg won’t say it.

Bloomberg points out that a majority of NYPD are minorities. Little does he know that minority cops can be just as racist as white cops.

Now Thompson says that “nobody would be tougher on crime than myself.” You know what, I’ll say it: I don’t want a mayor who is “tough on crime.” I want a mayor who is tough on violent criminals who rape and rob. I don’t need any more mayors who are tough on my ability to reach for my cell phone without getting shot at.

7:55: Ugh. Here’s a Bloomberg policy that I hate. Bloomberg’s OBSESSION with “nanny state” policies with regards to food, smoking, and general health concerns. “It is the job of government … to a) warn you, and b) try to prevent harm.”

No, it’s not. It’s the job of my mommy to warn me and prevent me from hurting myself. It’s the job of government to keep terrorists from blowing me up on my way to eating a KFC bowl of foods that don’t belong together and washing it down with an alcoholic concoction.

Excuse me, I need to eat a bacon pizza, have a smoke, and then sit very still as all the toxins seep into my system.

Mmmm … seeping.

7:56: Question from Scotto … does anybody notice that we still have homeless people?

Thompson: “We need to focus on preventing homelessness.” Oh really? As my wife said “Why are you wasting my time with your lip flapping?”

Bloomberg: It’s the ECONOMY stupid!

Again, Bloomberg > Thompson on basic reason why people don’t have homes.

7:59: Carter: Is there something nice you could say about each other?
Bloomberg: He’s a good golfer.
Thompson: He’s a nice dresser.

But I think that Bloomberg won that exchange. Bloomberg said that “… but Thompson isn’t the right man to lead this city.” Thompson said: “… but eight is enough.” And then Bloomberg followed hard with a whole: Eight isn’t enough for good schools, low crime, yada yada. First time Bloomberg looked honestly excited.

8:02: Closing statements.

Bloomberg: We came back from September 11th, and we’ll come back from this.
Thompson: Referendum on term limits.

Elie’s final thoughts:

Here’s the thing, Thompson has a lot more to do than Bloomberg. The argument for why Bloomberg shouldn’t be mayor is clear. He’s a “non-Democrat” in a Democratic city. And he’s flip-flopped on a term limits. Thompson has to make the case that he is ready to lead the city. I’m not sure he did that. He attacked, and attacked, but he really didn’t have a coherent argument for why he is ready to be the guy.

On the other hand, those Bloomberg negatives are high. On the immediate NY1 post-game, they are largely positive on Thompson’s performance. He wanted to go on the attack, and he succeeded.

Still, for the most part I look for a reason to vote for somebody. I’m a Democrat, I don’t like voting for non-Democrats, but there wasn’t a single point tonight where I felt: “yeah, Bill Thompson can lead this city out of this terrible recession.” Bloomberg (in part because he has been there for eight years) has a masterful command of the facts. He knows how the city works.

You have to knock out the champ to win the belt. Thompson didn’t come close to doing that tonight.

I hope you enjoyed the live blog. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.