LESSER-KNOWNS STILL DETECT NO RESPECT

Usually, third-party candidates are the ones who say that they are not
treated with the respect they deserve.

But in yesterday's debate, it was the third-party candidates for governor
who did not take H. Carl McCall seriously when he made a campaign promise
that could actually be tested before the election.

Mr. McCall, the Democratic candidate, said he would take on any opponent,
at any time, in a one-on-one debate - a jibe at Gov. George E. Pataki for
refusing to go head-to-head, but also a perfect opening for candidates who
complain that their views are not being heard. But the candidates did not bite.

"He's not going to do it, you know that," said Thomas K. Leighton, the
candidate for what Mr. McCall has on occasion referred to as the "Free
Marijuana Party," but which is actually the Marijuana Reform Party.

Gerard J. Cronin of the Right-to-Life Party, said he understood that Mr.
McCall might have said anyone, but he meant Governor Pataki. Scott Jeffrey,
34, the Libertarian candidate, said, "I didn't really think he was serious
about it."

It was a stark contrast to the usual tactics of big-league campaigning,
brought on by the spectacle of seven candidates debating on the same stage.
The third-party candidates (except for Tom Golisano, the billionaire who
has spent his way to prominence in the race) have starkly different
concerns from the major candidates. Winning is not among them. The point is
to spread the word on their issues.

"Basically, I'm a maniac," said Mr. Jeffrey, who has emphasized legalizing
both gay marriage and marijuana use. Mr. Jeffrey has a full-time job and
stumps without benefit of a campaign manager or an office.

His marijuana-leaf buttons are well-received on the campaign trail. "I
swear to God, they all just start chanting `Jeffrey, Jeffrey,' the whole
block. I strike such a chord with people."

Mr. Leighton, 51, an architectural photographer, said he had spent many a
summer morning canvassing the lines of people waiting for tickets to
Shakespeare in the Park, and Mr. Cronin, a Catholic-school teacher, said he
had received a lot of coverage in small newspapers in Brooklyn and Queens.

He was thrilled to have been included, but shocked that there was no
question about abortion. Still, he said, "I thought it was a great day for
democracy."

Mr. Cronin was eager to be interviewed, but when it came time to tell the
story of how he offered to run (there was, apparently, no other candidate
available), he said it was off the record. Asked why, he explained, "I
didn't want you to have to type that whole thing."

Only Stanley Aronowitz, the Green Party candidate, who has the most
substantial backing of the four, said he would exploit Mr. McCall's offer
to debate. But he did not give the proposition good odds of success. "We'll
write a letter and put out a press release and see who covers it," he said,
dourly