ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — While a new poll showed the Democrat leading his Republican opponent in New York’s attorney general race and many voters yet undecided, both promised strong anti-corruption initiatives while also taking repeated swipes at each other in their first debate Friday. The Quinnipiac poll showed state Sen. Eric Schneiderman leading Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan 43...
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — While a new poll showed the Democrat leading his Republican opponent in New York’s attorney general race and many voters yet undecided, both promised strong anti-corruption initiatives while also taking repeated swipes at each other in their first debate Friday.
The Quinnipiac poll showed state Sen. Eric Schneiderman leading Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan 43 to 32 percent. But 24 percent of those surveyed were undecided, and 39 percent of those who selected a candidate said they might change their minds by the Nov. 2 election.
“I have a three-pronged plan to clean up Albany and the corruption that lies there,” said Donovan, noting he has prosecuted fraud cases.
His plan is to give the attorney general clear jurisdiction in corruption cases, require lawmakers to provide more details about the state money they steer to nonprofit groups and require those legislators to disclose their outside income.
With a staff of more than 600 lawyers, the attorney general’s office defends the state in lawsuits, protects consumers, files civil suits, monitors charities and sometimes conducts investigations and prosecutions.
“Albany is a mess. I’m proud to have been recognized as a leader in the movement to reform Albany,” Schneiderman said, citing the effort he led to oust fellow Sen. Hiram Monserrate. “I’ve been a reformer when it was lonely in Albany.”
Schneiderman said his No. 1 change if elected would be expanding the office’s public integrity branch to have staff assigned regionally where people could safety bring complaints against state or local officials. He praised Cuomo for having expanded that role, including a corruption case against state Sen. Pedro Espada, accused of misusing state grants for personal gain at his Bronx health clinics, allegations Espada denies.
Donovan said past attorneys general had different emphases, Eliot Spitzer getting a reputation as “sheriff of Wall Street,” Cuomo investigating student loans. “I’m going to make my focus public corruption,” he said, adding people were tired of seeing New York as the butt of jokes on “Saturday Night Live.”
Both candidates condemned hate and bias crimes, including those against illegal aliens.
The Quinnipiac poll of likely voters has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.