Four Democratic attorney general candidates debate

In their fieriest exchanges of the campaign thus far, four Democratic candidates seeking the nomination for attorney general took aim at each other and the race's absent front-runner during a forum Tuesday at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan.

With a chair left empty for Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, state Sen. Eric Schneiderman, Assemb. Richard Brodsky, Sean Coffey and Eric Dinallo wasted little time going on the attack.

Brodsky (D-Westchester) suggested Rice has changed positions to suit her campaign, Coffey knocked her for not allowing Nassau prosecutors with children to work part-time, Dinallo called her prosecutorial experience "limited" and Schneiderman (D-Manhattan) said people should know Rice first registered as a Democrat five years ago.

Rice spokesman Eric Phillips said she could not attend the forum because she was "at the DA's office at work." She also skipped another forum last night, but Phillips said she plans to attend a Citizens Union forum Wednesday.

In a series of dizzying exchanges, the candidates attacked each other for their various experiences in Albany and in courtrooms. Brodsky accused Schneiderman of supporting embattled state Sen. Pedro Espada (D-Bronx), Coffey criticized Brodsky's votes to make Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) Assembly speaker, Coffey and Dinallo bickered about who did more to prosecute WorldCom, and Schneiderman said Coffey won business representing pension funds only after making campaign donations to politicians who controlled them.

Much of the debate focused on which candidate would best bring structural reform to state government. Coffey said an outsider like him would be best to change the system. "The folks who have been in Albany for decades aren't likely to be the catalysts for change," he said.

Dinallo, who served as Gov. Eliot Spitzer's insurance commissioner, said ethics reforms pushed by Schneiderman wouldn't be effective. "Asking Albany to prosecute and investigate themselves is like asking for dollar bills to rain from heaven," he said.

Schneiderman said his state Senate experience would give him knowledge of the system others lack. "I know it, I fought the power, and I think I am the person the public can have the most confidence in," he said.

And Brodsky said while the others make noise about a broken system of government, he has the skills to enact change. "If you want a tough guy to put people in jail, we'll all do that," he said. "If you want a guy to solve people's problems, that's what I'll do."

Coffey broached Schneiderman about a car accident last week in which his aide struck a parked car and left the scene. "Don't you think it's legitimate for voters to examine your judgment here?" Coffey asked.

Schneiderman asserted that "no voter" has asked him about the incident. "As we say in court, asked and answered," he said.

Coffey replied: "Maybe asked and answered, but as we say in court, the jury is still out."