MINOR PARTIES GRAB THE SPOTLIGHT

Third-Party Candidates Make Full Use Of Free Air Time While Golisano Joins
Pataki, McCall In Short Answers

NEW YORK -- Squeezing seven candidates into a 90-minute question-and-
answer format Sunday transformed the first televised debate in the race for
governor into a series of stump speeches, after which the three top
candidates all claimed victory.

Republican Gov. George Pataki and Democrat H. Carl McCall were largely
upstaged by the minor-party candidates, who typically offered direct
responses to questions and used the free air time to lay out their campaign
platforms.

With the exception of billionaire Independence Party challenger B. Thomas
Golisano, the minor parties have lacked the resources to draw much
attention in what has become the most expensive election in New York history.

The only specific answers McCall and Pataki offered Sunday were to
questions that allowed no wiggle room. Asked whether they would support a
statewide smoking ban in public places, both said, simply, "Yes."

When it came to the issue of term limits, McCall said he does not favor
them and prefers to let the voters decide. Pataki, who pledged when he
first ran for governor in 1994 to serve only two terms, said he supports a
constitutional amendment to impose term limits for the governor and the
state Legislature.

Asked to list the top three budget cuts they favor given the state's
impending fiscal crisis caused by a multibillion-dollar deficit, neither
McCall nor Pataki offered a single one.

McCall said the state has to "grow its way out" of the deficit by improving
the economy. Pataki said state government would need to be "restructured"
to save money, adding that he has "faced these challenges before." New York
was $5 billion in debt when Pataki took office in 1995 -- a problem he
addressed in part by reducing the size of the state work force. Estimates
of next year's deficit have ranged from $6 billion to $10 billion.

Golisano also was not specific in his response. He said the first cut needs
to be "the umbilical cord between special interests and state officials,"
which, he believes, drives spending up and keeps taxes high.

The most concise response to the question came from Right to Life candidate
Gerald Cronin, who said the state could save money by no longer paying for
abortions through the Medicaid program.

Marijuana Reform Party candidate Thomas Leighton said the state should
allow farmers to grow hemp, creating a new industry that would provide
additional revenue. He also proposed legalizing marijuana, his party's
signature issue, and taxing its sale to bring more money into the state's
coffers.

When asked whether he would promise not to raise taxes if elected, Pataki
pledged: "I can tell you right now, we're not going to raise taxes next
year." McCall used his time to question the governor's credibility. While
Pataki contends his administration has cut taxes at the state level, McCall
maintained the governor has shifted the tax burden onto already
cash-strapped localities.

Green Party candidate Stanley Aronowitz insisted New York needs to raise
taxes, not cut them, to keep existing programs and to add new ones like
free education at state colleges and universities. Aronowitz proposed
imposing an additional tax on wealthy New Yorkers.

The lack of fireworks at Sunday's debate was due in part to the fact that
the format did not allow candidates time to respond to one another.

McCall and Golisano took a few shots at Pataki, echoing their stump
speeches with complaints about his lack of leadership and failure to
improve the upstate economy and public education. But the other candidates
seemed to go out of their way to avoid criticizing the incumbent. Cronin,
Leighton and Libertarian Party candidate Scott Jeffrey even thanked Pataki
for participating on Sunday and for having urged that they be included.

Political strategists say the multi-candidate debate is favored by
incumbent front-runners because it limits the amount of time in which they
might make a mistake as well as the exposure available to their
challengers. With three weeks left in the campaign, Pataki remains ahead of
his opponents, according to statewide public opinion polls.

Sunday was the first time Pataki has appeared in a debate during his three
runs for governor. It also was the first gubernatorial debate televised in
New York for more than a decade.

When he ran against incumbent Democrat Mario M. Cuomo in 1994, Pataki
demanded one-on-one debates. Cuomo insisted on including minor-party
candidates. In 1998, Pataki refused to debate Democrat Peter Vallone,
claiming the challenger had been too negative in his campaigning.

For this debate, Pataki adopted Cuomo's 1994 strategy and insisted he would
not attend unless all candidates on the Nov. 5 ballot be invited to
participate. Seven of the eight candidates said yes. As a result, the most
time any candidate had to answer a question on Sunday was one minute.

The most provocative moment of the program, taped at 11 a.m. at the WABC-TV
studio and aired locally at 2 p.m. on WTEN Ch. 10, came when Leighton said
close to 1 million marijuana smokers in New York are "ready and willing" to
pay an additional tax if it means they could smoke without fear of arrest.

Jeffrey retorted: "I am a pot-smoker who does not want to pay more taxes."

The scene outside WABC-TV studio on 67th Street and Columbus Avenue
provided a stark contrast to the generally uneventful debate. Sign- waving
supporters of McCall and Pataki faced off on the sidewalk with each side
trying to outshout the other.

McCall's camp included a supporter wearing a chicken suit, meant to imply
that the governor is too afraid to debate McCall one-on-one.

Pataki's campaign rented a flatbed truck for the event, which his backers
jumped up and down on enthusiastically. Campaign signs were plastered on
every lamppost for blocks. A smaller contingent showed up to cheer for
Golisano.

Former federal housing secretary Andrew Cuomo, who is running on the
Liberal Party line, was the only candidate who did not show up for Sunday's
debate. Cuomo was running in a primary for the Democratic nomination
against McCall, but dropped out one week before the Sept. 10 election.

Both McCall's and Pataki's names will appear twice on the Nov. 5 ballot. In
addition to running as a Democrat, McCall is also the Working Families
Party's gubernatorial candidate. Pataki is running on both the Republican
and Conservative lines.

All the candidates who participated in Sunday's debate will appear in a
second debate Sunday in Syracuse.