GOP foe says Bo must go
Mallio: Bar loudmouth at 2nd debate
REPUBLIC mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis is “very pleased” with Tuesday night’s debate — even if she’d rather not have Bo Dietl on stage with her for the next one.
“Certainly I would prefer a one-on-one debate with the mayor,” Malliotakis said Wednesday, calling herself the clear alternative to Mayor de Blasio. “Obviously that would give me more time to make my case and we can drill a little more down on the various issues.”
The boisterous debate, broadcast by NY1, was marred by nearly constant outbursts from the audience, which at one point led moderator Errol Louis to direct police to kick out a spectator who screamed out that de Blasio would be going to jail. At one point, Dietl wouldn’t stop interrupting other candidates and Louis cut off his microphone.
“Yesterday was, it made it difficult, the crowd did make it difficult they took up a lot of time on all sides, on all three campaigns,” she said.
The inclusion of Dietl — who sucked up much of the oxygen and many of the headlines — may have made it harder for Malliotakis, a Staten Island assemblywoman, to introduce herself to an electorate that polls say doesn’t know much about her.
“I’m very pleased with the way the debate went,” she said. “I feel that I made the points, I feel that I held the mayor accountable on many of the issues that have been troubling the people of this city.”
Malliotakis continued to argue that public polling didn’t match up with her internal numbers, which showed a better outlook for a campaign widely considered a long shot.
“This is a race, I believe this is a race,” she said.
Malliotakis was asked about the debate during a press conference she held on Bruckner Blvd. in the Bronx, which she said residents feared would be turned into a homeless shelter or detox facility. Malliotakis offered no evidence either would happen, but said the city should be more transparent about citing such facilities and expressed support for state legislation that would require 45 days notice for shelters. The city has promised 30 days’ notice — though it falls far short of that when using hotel rooms to house homeless people.
The city has previously said there will not be a shelter on the site and said as much again Wednesday: “We are not using this location for shelter and we have no plans to do so,” Department of Homeless Services spokesman Isaac McGinn said.
Asked about de Blasio’s feelings on whether Dietl should be invited to the second debate, campaign spokesman Dan Levitan said, “We are happy for any opportunity to talk about the mayor’s record and we look forward to debating whoever the (Campaign Finance Board) and debate sponsors decide to include."