PATAKI AGREES TO DEBATE, BUT ON A CROWDED STAGE

For the first time in his three campaigns for governor, George E. Pataki
will debate his opponents tomorrow. But he has insisted on including all
seven of the candidates actively running, ensuring a cluttered event in
which challengers will have a hard time distinguishing themselves.

The debate was not put together without a hitch. On Thursday, Mr. Pataki
threatened to pull out when the producers at WABC-TV said they wanted to
seat him between his two leading opponents, H. Carl McCall and Tom Golisano.

The Pataki campaign said it would participate only if the candidates drew
for seats, and the television producers ultimately agreed. Now the three
main candidates will be sprinkled among the candidates for the Right to
Life, Libertarian, Green and Marijuana Reform Parties.

"This is not a debate," said Steven Greenberg, a spokesman for the
Democratic challenger, Mr. McCall. "This is a town hall discussion. George
Pataki is clearly afraid of debating Carl McCall in a serious fashion."

Michael McKeon, a spokesman for the Republican governor, said the Pataki
campaign had not tried to manipulate the format to make it harder for the
Democrat and Mr. Golisano, 60, a conservative billionaire running on the
Independence Party line, to gain attention.

"We thought a random drawing for position as well as the closing statements
was the most fair thing to do," he said.

A crowded forum benefits the incumbent in several ways. For starters,
voters disposed to vote against the incumbent governor may be attracted to
one of the minor-party candidates rather than to the Democratic challenger
or a strong third-party candidate like Mr. Golisano. In addition, the more
candidates there are, the less time each has to speak, making sharp
exchanges over Mr. Pataki's record less likely.

For Mr. McCall, 66, a one-on-one format would have sent a message to voters
that the race was a clear-cut choice between the two major-party
candidates. Even having Mr. Golisano in the mix would have been better for
the Democrat than a stage full of candidates known to few voters, political
strategists said.

"It diminishes McCall's stature at the same time it elevates Pataki by
reminding voters and viewers that he's the only governor on the platform,"
said Richard Schrader, a Democratic consultant not involved in the race.
"The noise level will drown out McCall's message." Mr. Pataki, 57, has
switched his position on debates since 1994, when he ran against Gov. Mario
M. Cuomo. Mr. Cuomo refused to debate unless the minor-party candidates
were included. At the time, Mr. Pataki rejected the terms, saying that
Governor Cuomo just wanted the other candidates included to deflect
attention from his record and that opening the debates to all candidates
would confuse voters.

The 90-minute debate tomorrow is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Channel 7. The
candidates will be seated, with Mr. McCall on the far left and Mr. Golisano
on the far right. Mr. Pataki will be third from the left, with the Right to
Life candidate, Gerard J. Cronin, between him and Mr. McCall. The three
other small-party candidates will separate the governor from Mr. Golisano.
Each candidate will be given a minute to answer each question from a panel
of four journalists and a minute to sum up.

For the minor-party candidates, the debate is a chance to inform voters
directly about their platforms, even if in a hurried way.

"It's overdue," said the Green Party candidate, Stanley Aronowitz, 69, a
sociology professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New
York. "The fact of the matter is we should have been covered with the major
parties all along."

Mr. Aronowitz favors closing all nuclear reactors in the state, raising the
minimum wage, repealing the death penalty and getting rid of the state's
long mandatory drug sentences. He also wants to raise taxes for the rich to
pay for free tuition at state colleges and for state-financed health
insurance. "When you don't talk about taxes, what you say is hollow," he said.

The Libertarian candidate is Scott Jeffrey, 34, a software developer from
Park Slope, Brooklyn. He has run on legalizing marijuana and easing
government regulations over guns and drinking.

Mr. Cronin, 40, the Right to Life candidate, is a teacher who writes for
The Tablet, the weekly Catholic newspaper for the Diocese of Brooklyn. He
is running on the single issue of outlawing abortion.

Thomas K. Leighton, 51, a photographer who is the candidate for the
Marijuana Reform Party, is running on a three-part platform: legalizing
marijuana for medical use, revamping the drug laws so that drug use is
handled as a medical problem, and allowing farmers to grow hemp for
industrial purposes.

"If people simply know we are on the ballot, they will come out and vote
for us," Mr. Leighton said.