Bill de Blasio Clear Victor of First NYC Mayoral Debate [Poll]

Bill de Blasio, the Democratic candidate in the New York City mayoral race, was declared the clear victor in Tuesday's first televised debate against his opponent, Joseph J. Lhota. De Blasio was unremitting in his denunciations against the Republican candidate, tying him to what he called an obstructionist Republican Party as well as the Rudolph W. Giuliani administration.

Although de Blasio is the clear frontrunner, he did not play it safe in Tuesday's debate, according to The New York Times. He dominated the hour-long discourse, usually getting in the last word and asking the panelists for longer response times to elaborate on his criticisms.

Lhota came to the debate ready to raise questions about de Blasio's short resume and paint him as a liberal that is too conciliatory, soft on crime, and has a destructive social policy that will hurt the middle class. But Lhota did not do the swinging; the Republican candidate spent most of the time on the defensive.

At one point, Lhota had to defend the fare increases that went into effect during his time as chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, as well as his meeting with Tea Party members on Staten Island. He also had to explain why he wished to delay the start of the Affordable Care Act, a stance held by many House Republicans that was the central factor that led to the government shutdown.

Lhota sometimes said de Blasio was inaccurate in lumping him in with the Republicans in Congress.

"It's unbecoming, Bill," said Lhota. Lhota is more socially liberal than many Republicans; he supports both same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

Yet de Blasio was unabating in his main criticism, and repeated the same attack multiple times.

"The fact is he does subscribe to the views of the Republican Party that have hurt New York City," de Blasio said.

The debate, which aired on WABC-TV, showcased de Blasio's political aptitude, while it revealed Lhota's shortcomings in front of a large audience.

Lhota was not able to expose his opponent's shortcomings, as he desired. Instead, Lhota, who was a former deputy mayor under Mayor Giuliani, was outwitted. Lhota seldom made eye contact with de Blasio and seemed to get snagged in the details of his own policy platforms, which ate up crucial minutes.

De Blasio was also adroit at circumventing questions he did not want to answer. Like a veteran politician, when asked to offer two ideas for negotiating with municipal unions, he changed the discussion to a critique of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his administration's attitude toward labor, which ended with the statement, "we have to balance our budget."

Although the debate was undoubtedly serious, a lighter moment was when Dave Evans, a reporter for WABC, spoke of the Democratic nominee's quick rise to political fame, saying that a few months ago, "most people didn't know who Bill de Blasio was."

Mr. de Blasio interjected, "Dave, I agree."

Lhota also teased de Blasio for his loyalty to Boston teams.

"The thing that bothers me the most," said Lhota, who is also a former executive at Madison Square Garden, home to the Knicks, "you've got to support our basketball teams here in the city."

One of the most substantive topics of debate was over the future of charter schools in New York, a topic that is continuously controversial.

De Blasio said he wants to stop allowing charter schools to use city space for free, but he did say that he would "work with charters that are doing a good job." But he said that he would not embrace charter schools as much as the current mayor has.

Lhota, who is a vocal advocate for charter schools, said that de Blasio has changed his tune regarding the issue. "Bill de Blasio has changed his mind and has flip-flopped on this issue during the entire Democratic primary," he said.

The debate was the first of three planned before the election, which takes place on Nov. 5.