De Blasio and Lhota Agree to 3 More TV Debates
By DAVID W. CHEN
A day after fending off criticism for his youthful ties to left-wing groups, Bill de Blasio, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, slammed his Republican rival on Tuesday for borrowing a page from the other end of the political spectrum: right-wing Republicans.
The Republican candidate, Joseph J. Lhota, showed no signs of backing down, accusing Mr. de Blasio, who as a young man had admired Nicaragua’s leftist Sandinista government, of dishonoring New Yorkers who escaped “Marxist tyranny.” Mr. Lhota, who trails Mr. de Blasio by more than 40 percentage points in recent polls, also introduced a new line of attack, saying that Mr. de Blasio was limiting his public appearances to avoid scrutiny.
The exchanges spiced up a day in which the two candidates agreed to participate in three televised debates, the most in a general election since 1985, on three consecutive Tuesdays, with the first scheduled for Oct. 15. Mr. Lhota had wanted more — he sought at least one in each borough — but Mr. de Blasio said he would participate in three.
Mr. de Blasio continued to focus on rolling out endorsements from local and national Democrats, who have rallied behind him since he won the nine-candidate Democratic primary two weeks ago. On Tuesday, he was endorsed by a former rival, John C. Liu, the city comptroller. Also, on Tuesday evening, he was scheduled to meet briefly with President Obama, who endorsed him on Monday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/nyregion/de-blasio-and-lhota-agree-to-3-more-tv-debates.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytmetro&_r=0
