Two Democrats competing in a primary to face New York City’s billionaire incumbent mayor didn’t tussle over issues in their first official debate, but they did fight about money. Democrats William Thompson Jr. and Tony Avella ignored each other throughout the debate last night. Instead, they attacked Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was not there. The Republican-turned-independent faces no primary challenger.
Thompson and Avella did argue once — about money, a hot topic in a race where the popular mayor is spending millions on his campaign.
Thompson compared his campaign to President Barack Obama’s grass-roots effort. Avella ridiculed the description because most of Thompson’s donations are not from small donors.
A Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday shows Thompson leading Avella 45 to 10 percent among Democratic voters, with 38 percent saying they are undecided.
The poll also shows Bloomberg leading Thompson 50 to 35 percent among voters. Bloomberg also tops Avella 55 to 28 percent.
The primary is Sept. 15.
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