Pubdate: Tue, 20 Aug 2002
Source: New York Times (NY)
Section: New York Region
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Contact:  http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Shaila K. Dewan
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?140 (Rockefeller Drug Laws)

CUOMO ATTACKS MCCALL, WHO ATTACKS PATAKI, WHO...

H. Carl McCall looked beyond the coming Democratic primary yesterday and 
spent the day campaigning against the Republican candidate for governor, 
George E. Pataki, whom he accused of postponing difficult decisions for the 
state until after the election.

Mr. McCall's Democratic primary opponent, Andrew M. Cuomo, kept after Mr. 
McCall, saying that he had approved a state budget riddled with 
inconsistencies and had failed to use his post as state comptroller to 
invest in New York State.

With 22 days to go before the primary on Sept. 10, both Democratic 
candidates strode into the week with sharpened tactics, as if their 
televised debate on Sunday had been a suspenseful overture instead of 
something akin to a polite game of bridge.

But in many ways, it was as if they were running in two separate races: Mr. 
McCall, buoyed by recent polls, directed his attention to Mr. Pataki, whom 
the Democratic nominee will face in the November election. And Mr. Cuomo, 
fervently attacking Mr. McCall's record, sought to remind him that he still 
has a primary to contend with.

Appearing outside the governor's headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, Mr. 
McCall listed major issues for which Mr. Pataki has promised solutions in 
December, after the Nov. 5 election.

"George Pataki is unwilling to step up and provide the leadership and make 
the tough decisions about what the future's going to be like," Mr. McCall 
said. "On issue after issue, the important issues that have to be decided, 
the governor's response to this is, 'Manana, let's make these decisions 
tomorrow.' "

Mr. McCall pointed out that December is supposed to be a milestone for 
narrowing the number of plans for Lower Manhattan, and it is the deadline 
for a report commissioned by the governor on whether to close the Indian 
Point nuclear plant.

In addition, Mr. McCall said, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority 
board, which the governor controls, will not decide on a possible fare 
increase until at least December. He also said Mr. Pataki had dragged his 
feet on facing the state's fiscal problems, changing the Rockefeller-era 
drug laws and enacting campaign-finance reform.

At a news conference later, Mr. Pataki's face took on a wounded look when 
he heard of Mr. McCall's remarks. But he stuck to the script he has used to 
distance himself throughout the primary: They are politicians. I am the 
governor.

"That's just politics as usual," he said. "I will continue to work hard 
every day to bring the people of New York together, to move us forward 
together, to make the important decisions when they should be made, not for 
anyone's political agenda."

Mr. McCall, even when asked by reporters about Mr. Cuomo, refused to be 
distracted: "I'm running against George Pataki, he is presently the 
governor, and I'm talking about the differences between me and him. It's up 
to my Democratic opponent to point out the differences that he has."

But when reporters asked him about an event the governor was at that moment 
attending, Mr. McCall was quick to unleash a new volley. He labeled 
"suspect" Mr. Pataki's publicized lunch marking the 11th anniversary of the 
incident that touched off the Crown Heights disturbance.

The lunch was with Carmel Cato, the father of Gavin Cato, the child who was 
killed by a car in the Brooklyn neighborhood, and Norman Rosenbaum, the 
brother of Yankel Rosenbaum, the Jewish scholar who was killed in the 
ensuing unrest.

Mr. McCall implied that the lunch, of corned beef sandwiches, to mark the 
one-year-old friendship between Mr. Cato and Mr. Rosenbaum was politically 
motivated.

"I have not seen him reach out to try to reconcile differences between 
competing groups, have you?" Mr. McCall asked.

Again, the governor defended himself. "That's just very disappointing, and 
I think Carl McCall's better than that," he said. "I don't think I have to 
stand here and justify a lifetime of working to bring the people of every 
community I've represented together."

"If Carl McCall were doing something to bring people together, I'd applaud 
him for doing that," he added.

Isaac Abraham, a spokesman for the Rosenbaum family, later called reporters 
to defend the governor, saying Mr. Pataki had been in frequent contact with 
both families. "Mr. McCall had 11 years. Did he make a call to Mr. Cato?" 
he asked. "No, he did not, and the question is: 'Why?' "

Meanwhile, Mr. Cuomo, appearing on the steps of the State Capitol, railed 
against the way business is done in Albany, a recurring theme in his 
campaign. With another of his policy papers, he proposed opening the 
legislative process to public participation, streamlining the court system 
and setting up a nonpartisan commission to draw new legislative and 
Congressional district lines.

"God did not make Albany this way," he said, criticizing the state 
government for moving too slowly and secretively. "This is not from the 
heavens. Moses did not come down with the tablets and say the budget shall 
be late every year."

Mr. Cuomo included Mr. McCall in his criticism, ridiculing him for 
certifying a state budget dependent on questionable revenue estimates. "How 
can you criticize the budget when you approved it?" he asked.

Mr. McCall said in response that his approval of the budget is a nominal 
process that ensures only that projected revenues and expenses match, not 
that they are realistic.

Mr. Cuomo also said that the portion of the state pension fund invested in 
New York State under Mr. McCall has dropped, to 6 percent from 10 percent. 
Mr. McCall disputed the claim, saying the percentages were lower but the 
amount of money was much higher - rising to $24 billion from $14 billion, 
his spokesman later said.
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MAP posted-by: Jackl