Lhota, Carrion gang up on absent de Blasio in mayoral debate

Mayoral front-runner Bill de Blasio skipped Tuesday night’s first post-primary debate, but his presence loomed large as candidates Joe Lhota and Adolfo Carrion Jr. agreed on most issues and criticized their missing Democratic rival.

Independence Party candidate Carrion said de Blasio’s failure to participate in the debate, hosted by NY1 and WNYC among others, was “disrespectful to the voters.” Lhota, a Republican, did not directly slam de Blasio for missing the debate, but took him to task for opposing charter schools, seeking to raise taxes on the wealthy and not having a solid plan to boost the economy and create jobs.