In the final debate of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, seven candidatestook the stage Thursday night and sparred over their experience and records.
The participants included former New York governor and controversial frontrunnerAndrew Cuomo, rising challenger and Democratic socialist state assembly member Zohran Mamdani, New York City council speaker Adrienne Adams; New York City comptroller Brad Lander, former comptroller Scott Stringer, State senator Zellnor Myrie, and former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson.
The Democratic primary election will be held on 24 June, with early voting beginning this weekend, on 14 June.
Here arekey takeaways from the two-hour debate:
The debate quickly turned combative, with Cuomo and Mamdani dominating much of the night with sharp exchanges over their records, experience, and age.
Cuomo, 67, who isattempting a political comebackafter resigning in 2021amid sexual harassment allegations, dismissed 33-year-old Mamdani as unqualified and too inexperienced for the role of New York City mayor, repeating critiques he made duringthe first debate.
Cuomo said that it would be “reckless and dangerous” to elect Mamdani, before rattling off a list of government bodies that he claimed Mamdani had never faced or dealt with.
“He’s never built anything” Cuomo added. “He’s never dealt with a natural emergency. He’s never dealt with a hurricane, with a flood, etc. He’s never done any of the essentials. And now you have Donald Trump on top of all of that.”
Mamdani hit back, listing Cuomo’s controversies as Governor, including he sexual harassment allegations.
“To Mr Cuomo,” Mamdani said “I have never had to resign in disgrace. I have never cut Medicaid, I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA, I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment, I have never sued for their gynecological records, and I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr Cuomo.”
Mamdani also criticized Cuomo for repeatedly mispronouncing his name, spelling it out for him.
“If you were mayor of New York right now, how would you handlethis situation, if something like that happened here?” the moderators asked.
Cuomo vowed to defend New York City as asanctuary city.
“We are going to protect our immigrants” Cuomo said. “This is a sanctuary city, and we are going to defend the laws of the sanctuary city.”
He added: “Donald Trump only picks fights that he can win. He cannot win a fight with me as mayor of New York.”
Mamdani pledged to ensure that the NYPD would not cooperate with federal immigration agents. He also vowed to fund legal services for immigrants facing deportation.
Other candidates, such as Adrienne Adams, said that they would take the fight to the court, and would sue the federal government.
“We are right now dealing with a lawless president enacting lawless behavior across this entire nation,” Adams said.
Cuomo faced criticism throughout the night.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander pressed Cuomo on his use of the term “illegal immigrants” prompting Cuomo to switch to “undocumented.”
Lander accused Cuomo of avoiding accountability for his time in office.
“I lead by building the best teams, not through sexual harassment, corruption and disgrace” Lander said.
Cuomo called the whole saga “political” and urged voters to “look at the facts.”
Lander fired back, saying “everybody here knows that you sexually harassed women, that you created a toxic work environment”.
Cuomo accused Lander of telling lies.
Moderators pressed Cuomo on his outreach to Muslim communities, noting that, according to Muslim American organizations, he never made a public visit to a mosque during his 10 plus years as Governor.
The moderator asked Cuomo what he would say to the Muslim New Yorkers “about whether or not you would reach out to them, make them feel welcome, make them feel protected”.
Cuomo said he believed he had visited a mosque, adding: “I would have to check the record.”
He added: “I would say, we are a city of immigrants. I welcome them. I love them” before going on to attack Mamdani once more, saying: “I’m not Mr Mamdani. I’m not antisemitic. I’m not divisive.”
Mamdani, who is Muslim, chimed in, saying “The reason he doesn’t have a message for Muslim New Yorkers is because he has nothing to say to us, because he doesn’t see us as if we are every other New Yorker.”
The moderators also asked Mamdani what he would say to “Jewish New Yorkers who are supportive of Israel and fear for their safety in this current political climate.”
“That I hear them” Mamdani said.
He continued, “After the days of the horrific war crime of October 7, a friend of mine told me about how he felt sitting in a synagogue for Shabbat services when he heard the door open and a chill went up his spine as he turned around, not knowing who would be there. I will protect Jewish New Yorkers and deliver them…safety.”
Mamdan then accused a Cuomo-aligned Super Pac ofmanipulating a photoof him on a draft campaign flier that made Mamdani’s beard looks darker, longer and thicker, having earliercalled itblatant islamophobia.
Tilson named the Department of Education. Stringer pledged to make all agencies “run better” and “more efficient”.
Myrie suggested reallocating funds from the Economic Development Corporation, and Mamdani criticized the city’s reliance on expensive consultants, noting “we’re currently paying McKinsey millions of dollars to design a trash can.”
Cuomo pointed to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development as a place he would begin making cuts.