Four of the five candidates running for New York State Attorney General (AG) attended a debate last week, where they all assured they would defend the rights of immigrants.
All the candidates except Kathleen Rice attended the televised debate on the Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) hosted by New York Community Media Alliance with members of the ethnic press in the audience on Thursday, September 2.
The candidates spoke about fighting against laws like the one in Arizona and other discriminatory practices by the police also called “stop-and-frisk.” They also talked about Wall Street, health disparities, keeping the youth out of trouble and discrimination against street vendors, who are mostly immigrants.
Eric Schneirderman, who represents the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood in the 31st District in the New York State Senate, called himself “an adopted Dominican” during the debate. Schneirderman said if elected, he would create a department with the State Attorney General Office that would handle discrimination complaints.
Sean Coffey, who is a retired Navy Captain and former federal prosecutor, remarked about the controversial plan to build a Mosque near Ground Zero.
“I believe in freedom of religion,” said Coffey, who is Irish-American and lives in Westchester County.
Richard Brodsky commented on the Muslim yellow cab driver who was brutally attacked three weeks ago.
“Nuts feel empowered,” said Brodsky, who represents District 92 in the New York State Assembly, which includes the towns of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant among other communities in Westchester County.
When asked, the candidates all agreed that the campaign had just begun, even though the primaries are on Tuesday, September 14. According to a Quinnipiac poll released on September 3, 77 percent of Democrats do not know who to vote for State Attorney General.
“Nobody knows anyone in this campaign and I been on this since August of last year,” said Eric Dinallo, a former superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department.
