Democratic Mayoral Candidates Facing Opposition While Campaigning In New York City
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Democratic primary for mayor of New York City is just 33 days away. The large field of candidates is getting out there, pushing to get your vote.
CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer explains sometimes that means they have to face opposition.
When Andrew Yang arrived at a Brooklyn campaign stop to tout a plan to diversify the NYPD, he wasn't expecting to be confronted by a local resident determined to highlight Yang's voting record.
The protester shouted "Andrew Yang doesn't vote in New York City" while the mayoral candidate tried to speak to a crowd.
The former presidential wannabe didn't cast ballots in New York City mayoral elections from 2001-2017.
It was chaos. Yang tried to talk the man off the ledge, and supporters got involved.
"It's a fact. It's not an opinion," the protester yelled.
"Shut up," one supporter shouted back.
"This is New York. This is great," Yang said.
But what wasn't so great was Yang's conflicting answers when Kramer asked if he would modify some sections of the diaphragm law that police experts blame for the hesitancy of cops to go after the bad guys.
"I'd like to hear from [New York City Council candidate Edwin Raymond, a former cop], what his experiences are," Yang said.
"I'd like to hear what you say," Kramer said.
"When I talked to police officers, they were concerned about it, but ... they feel they are still able to arrest someone," Yang said.
But after Raymond, who was with Yang, said there were ambiguities that could be modified, Yang said he would talk to more cops.
"And if they felt that ambiguity is keeping them from being able to operate effectively, then I would revisit it," he said.
Yang also had trouble answering a question about whether section 50A of the state civil rights law should be repealed. It allows police to shield misconduct records. Although it's a hot-button topic, he didn't appear to know what it was.
All this comes as, according to a new poll, Yang is in a neck-and-neck race with Eric Adams, a former police captain.
The Manhattan Institute poll has Yang at 19, Adams at 18, Kathryn Garcia at 11, Maya Wiley at 10, Scott Stringer at 8, Ray McGuire and Dianne Morales tied at 6 and Shaun Donovan at 4.
Thursday, Garcia attended a ceremony honoring sanitation workers who died during the pandemic, and Wiley offered plans for strengthening the city's natural disaster response plan.
After Adams picked up another union endorsement, he said New Yorkers should choose him over Yang.
"First of all, I'm a better choice because I'm a real New Yorkers. I don't live upstate. I live in Brooklyn. Second, I understand what we need to do to bring safety and justice to our city," Adams said.
He was in high spirits because the poll also found that if ranked choice voting was taken into account, he would beat Yang by four points.