Mr. Lhota, a Republican, held nothing back, warning that Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, would “annihilate” charter schools, commit a “civil wrong” by raising taxes and take a “reckless” approach to policing. With a jab of his thumb, Mr. Lhota said that Mr. de Blasio’s policies “will push us back to where we were” in New York City’s grimier days of runaway crime.
In the evening’s most intense exchange, the candidates clashed over an advertisement by Mr. Lhota that used imagery from the 1991 Crown Heights riots to portray the Democrat as soft on crime. “It’s race baiting and it’s fear mongering and you know it,” Mr. de Blasio said, adding: “Anybody who looks at that ad knows what he is up to.”
Mr. Lhota shot back. “Don’t tell me I threw out the race card,” he said. “Bill, you cannot stoop to that level.”