GOP candidate Paladino pushes Cuomo to debate

GOP gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino criticized Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Monday because he has not accepted invitations to debate, asserting that the Democratic candidate for governor has "no cojones."

In a letter posted to his campaign website, Paladino accused Cuomo of having "some sense of entitlement based on being the son of Mario Cuomo" and said he should have nothing to fear in a debate.

"It's difficult to understand why you, a polished veteran campaigner, scion of a political dynasty and king-designate, would fear a simple businessman from Buffalo, who candidly has never been in a debate in his life - except maybe in a bar," the letter said.

Paladino first asked Cuomo to debate him last week after defeating former Brightwaters congressman Rick Lazio in the Republican primary for governor. Paladino said Cuomo is scared to debate him on Cuomo's record as Housing and Urban Development secretary and his ties to Democrats such as Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Manhattan) and former Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

"So Andrew, for the first time in your life be a man," Paladino wrote. "Don't hide behind daddy's coattails even though he pulled strings to advance your career every step of your way. Come out and debate like a man."

Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto declined to comment. But Jay Jacobs, the state and Nassau Democratic chairman, said Cuomo is "open to debates" with Paladino and other candidates for governor.

"It seems like Carl is melting down again," Jacobs said. "We'd be happy to debate Carl Paladino just as soon as he finishes the debate going on inside his head. Is he Mr. Tea Party or is he a hypocrite that trades campaign cash for multimillion-dollar state leases? Is he the racist, misogynist as his e-mails suggest he is or is he just a high school boy in the body of a 64-year-old man? Judging by the way he's conducted himself during this campaign, it seems as though he's all of the above."

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that Paladino received a $1.4 million tax break and created just one permanent job as a Buffalo developer, a record Democrats call a disgrace but he defends as public service.

Paladino received the break under the state's much criticized Empire Zone program in 2002 and said he complied fully under the terms required of developers at that time.

Paladino said that although he directly created only temporary construction jobs, his investment in inner-city Buffalo built a clothing store, a bank, a furniture store and more, creating many jobs. As a developer, he couldn't claim he created those jobs.

But Jacobs said Paladino "gave generously to well-placed politicians, pocketed $1.4 million in job creation tax breaks and then managed to create a grand total of one job. That's the type of abuse of public money that makes New Yorkers sick of Albany's pay-to-play culture."