creatednine, c-span was as a public service by american cable television companies, and today, we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington, d.c., and around the country. you by yourought to cable or satellite provider. announcer: the new york democratic gubernatorial debate, sponsored by cbs 2, 1055, and hofstra university. cbs'ss your moderator, maurice dubois. maurice: tonight, the candidates are facing off in their one and only debate before the primary election, and welcome, everyone.

is, and joiningbo me tonight is marcia kramer. yet asked for people to be respectful and not interfere with the debate. we are also streaming on cbsnewyork.com. and now, let us welcome the candidates, oven or andrew cuomo and challenger cynthia nixon. governor cuomo, ms. nixon, there are no opening and closing statements, as you know. you will have two w questions and one minute for rebuttal. you were best known as an extraordinarily successful, talented, respected actor, but many have asked over and over, why are you running, and what in your experience and background should give voters confidence that you can run a state of 20 million people and a budget of almost $170 billion. ms. nixon: thank you, maurice. it is great to be here.

i am a lifelong new yorker. i grew up here to get i am a public school graduate. i am a public school parent of three kids, and i am somebody who has been fighting for lgbtq equality and women's rights and abortion rights and most especially for better funding and more equitable funding for new york schools for the last 17 of theand that is one main reasons i am running, because new york has the second-most on he will education system when it comes to education funding in the entire albany, and i am not an insider, let governor cuomo. that notnk experience mean that much of him are not actually good at governing. i think that governor cuomo is a and astute politician crackerjack fundraiser, but when you look at how he has broken the new york city subway, when

you look at how he has handed over control of the date then it to republicans, if you look at the incredible corruption in his administration, particularly where his economic developments are concerned, i think you see that actually an albany insider is kind of a person that has a the -- chance to clean up corruption in albany and a person who is not excepting, as i enough, any corporate contributions. maurice: ms. next, what your background can give confidence that you can run this state? as i said, i have been a longtime activist for schools for funding, and that means rallies, fundraisers, butherding things through, also in terms of more hands-on type of experiences. i was instrumental in a group called fight back, new york, that laid the groundwork for

marriage equality, and we raised $800,000. we targeted 11 state senators, democratic and republican, and we will continue to do so. we took three of them out through opposition research that we are illustrated in their district, and we put the fear of god in eight or. maurice: thank you. governor, if you would like to rebut. governor cuomo: thank you, a pleasure to be at hofstra, and i would like to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of senator john mccain, who was not a member of a party but a great american, and the flag in new york will be at half staff regardless of washington does. the governor of new york is not about politics were about advocacy. it is about doing. it is about management. this is real life. the governor of new york, you're running a $70 billion budget. you are in charge of fighting terrorism. you are there in cases of fires and lug and emergencies and

train wrecks. and today, you have to fight donald trump, who is the main risk to the state of new york. he is trying to change the rights and values of yorker, and the first line of defense is new york, and the governor that fight, and you need to know how to do it. maurice: governor, thank you. this next one is for you. you have been outspoken on issues, and the president, of late, has led to speculation about your white house ambitions. can you promise of voters of new york right here tonight, that if -- if you win, you will not be running for president. governor cuomo: no, i am running for new york. my job is to protect your from terrorism, whether it is lighter change or mother nature, but

part of the largest threat day is president trump. he is attacking everything we believe in new york. he has attacked the women's right to choose previous attack immigration. ofhas attacked the rights working men and women. he has attacked the environment. everything we believe. we passed marriage equality, the to do so.state we passed the toughest gun-control laws in the united states of america, they act. he will roll it back. i'm going to fight with him. he week at me weekly. i welcome it. know me by my enemies. someone has to stand up to him. someone has to stand up to him. new york has always been a progressive capital. we have made of the progressive capital again, and new york should be the state where we say we are the alternative state to

donald trump, and we're not going to let them bring his extreme conservative politics to this date in new york. i just want to be clear to you promise to serve four years as governor if elected. governor cuomo: the only caveat is if god strikes me dead. fourwise, i will serve years as governor of new york. maurice: ok, you have a minute to rebut. ms. nixon: i would say that president trump did tweet it you about whether or not america was great, and back down. -- and you back down. you said when it comes to opposing donald trump, we already have a corrupt republican in the white house, we do not need a corrupt republican in new york. we need to oppose donald trump

not just with rhetoric but with why had youbecause not expanded driver licenses to undocumented workers really care about combating the trump agenda and starting -- stopping the nasty protections? this is something you could do by executive order, i pledge to do on my first day in office. about aeally care president that is rolling back obamacare, why have you not thought harder for single-payer? if you really care about reproductive health, why have you prioritize republican leadership of the senate over the reproductive health act? hold out of the pair's climate accords? why have you not fought for the climate act, which would have caused 100% just transition to renewable energy here in new

york state? are sor cuomo: there many misstatements there, it is hard to do it in a minute, but let's hold up. on immigration, nobody has stood up to donald trump the way i have. we are suing donald trump from ripping the arms of babies from their mothers. we will not cooperate with a bunch of thugs. have not asked the liberty act. -- you have not passed the liberty act. governor cuomo: excuse me. i let you speak. far as drivers licenses, eliot spitzer tried that in 2007. supported that. we need a law. the legislature would not pass it. i said we would pass it in a state of new york. it would be a top priority.

and corporateate democrats -- there is only one corporate democrat on this stage. it is my opponent. marcia: broken down trains and long delay, they all just want to get to work. you are declaring a state of emergency. , and in thesfied meantime, as a gesture of goodwill to commuters, would you canceledhaving the mta a planned fare hike next year and have the state make up the shortfall? we have cuomo: crumbling infrastructure all across the state and across this nation. president trump said he was going to fix it with a $1.5 trillion plan. he never did. we now have the most aggressive

rebuilding program in the history of the state and in the united states of america, over $100 billion. we are rebuilding on long island, new laguardia airport, new jfk airport, and more in upstate new york. on the mta, you're really referring to the new york transit authority, which is the subway system. it has been declining for decades. it is 600 miles of track. carsve 40-year-old subway and switchers that were doused with hurricane sandy. $33 billion. it is a shared city-state expense, marcia, and i meet the city and the state to both find it, and we need adjusting pricing for long-term funding. marcia: but here is the

question. would you consider having the mta cancel the fair i can year and have the state make up the shortfall -- cancel the fare hike next year and have the state take up the shortfall? be anor cuomo: it has to joint funding responsibility between the city and the state. and some facts. new york city owns the transit authority. new york city historically has always fun to at twice the level of the day. its state has now funded four times. marcia: will the state of the shortfall? the state cannot find the mta without sharing it with the city. if they would do 50/50, i would do it. marcia: you do not think you should try to send as a message in good faith just to do it this one time?

i want to find a $33 billion plan. that is what we need to fix the subways. not with theit, one step at a time, incremental approaches. we had something, and the city would not find it. it got delayed. -- the city would not fund it. need the city and the state to both share the fiscal responsibility. marcia: ok, your time is up. , would you do away with the fare hike and have the state cap the shortfall? think it ises, i unconscionable that we're thinking about -- governor cuomo is thinking about raising the fares on a system that is so poor. as someone on their each day, i know firsthand how the rates have tripled under governor

cuomo, how the trains are slower now that they were in 19 80, how we have the worst on-time record of any system in the country. would you delay the fare hike and pickup the shortfall? and governorwould, cuomo knows that it is controlled by the governor. it is a state agents, and to pretend anything else is completely disingenuous. subway is in such bad shape, yes, we have had -- it preceded andrew cuomo, hundreds of millions of dollars from the mta budget taken for his projects that have nothing to do with it. andsed the mta like an atm, we see the results he has had 7.5 years to avoid this very avoidable crisis in our your except way, and he has done next to nothing. why would the next four years be any different? governor cuomo: my opponent

lives in the world of fiction. i live in the world of the act. -- fact. by subway system is owned new york city. ms. nixon: in is been controlled by the governor since 1965. governor cuomo: could you stop interrupting? as well as you do. the funding over the past 30 years for the subway system has come from new york city for the capital repairs. the state has participated. 2:1 match.n a the city has done twice what the state has done. i've funded four times what the city funded. city,ow saying to the "let's do it 50/50," because we need billions of dollars. the state cannot do it.

when 70 says, "yes, i will pick somebody says, "yes, i will get up." you cannot do that. let's share it. that is on the facts. we have congestion pricing. which is why -- governor cuomo: i've thought for congestion -- i've fought for congestion funding. we have a republican senate because of your funding of the idc. maurice: we're going to move on. that is notmo: true, and if you knew facts, you would know that. ms. nixon: yes, you did. 2011. maurice: thank you, governor.

proposing the're state moved to a single pair system, known for -- known as medicare for all. that would be $35 billion, almost the size of the state such. how would you make this happen? ms. nixon: the rand corporation also said would be a tremendous savings for new york state. we can ensure all of our people here by a single-payer medicare for all system -- we can insure all of our people here by a single pair of -- single-payer medicare for all, and it would cost less. maurice: the same study found a nearly triple the tax rate for the average family for a family making roughly $100,000 m a $150,000. family who makes, say, $49,000, the cost of health

care is $17,500. the cost between the individual and the employer would be 1/6 of that. have a payroll tax in order to pay for that. it would be taking -- taken out of payroll the same way social is taken out. it would be an overall savings for 98% of new yorkers, and it would begin a enormous savings for employers here. it could create 200,000 jobs, because employers would no longer be responsible for providing health care for their employees. pharmaceutical and medical costs down 40%. we have one million uninsured new yorkers in this state, but we have millions more who are underinsured who are one diagnosis, who are one accident away, from bankruptcy. this is the kind of change that new yorkers really care about it is kind of change that our

democratic party should be embracing in order to address the incredible inequality here. health care is a human right e all of ourinsur people and do it at the norman savings, not only to employers andto the state itself -- do it at enormous savings, not only to employers but to the state itself. bloomberg,omo: might -- mike bloomberg, giving millions, she said she would support him for governor. is not corrupt like you are. i would not run against him. is a personmo: supported the republican senate. on single-payer, in theory, in theory, it is right. of ifinds me the story the patient is going to survive the operation, he will live a long and happy life. it works lose your on a national

level to make the transformation. could noton ms. nixon answer is projected cost is $200 million. the transition. that is more than the current state budget. the current state budget is 170 million dollars for everything, health care, education, etc. where'd you get the money which would double the tax burden and take money from everything else to get to single-payer? california has tried to do it. vermont has tried to do it. no one has done it successfully. it is the right idea. it should be explored. it is hard to do. the real thing we need to do is have a president of the united states who understands that health care is not a luxury. right, and it has to be done on a federal level with congress, and let's force

this president to do it. ms. nixon: we have to do it at the state level first to show it can be done, and we could do it in new york, but we have to have political will. goesa: the next question to new, governor beebe corruption has touched your --er circle, with a man governor. corruption has touched your inner circle. he pushed a pamphlet called seems up albany," and it we still need a good cleaning. will you make it happen if you're reelected? governor cuomo: yes. marcia, you know the situation are referring to was a painful it is a personally difficult situation for him and his family. he went to work for my father when he was making the came to work for me. saying wheny father

another got into trouble with rudy giuliani, my father was still alive, and we were shocked that rudy giuliani, a great prosecutor, and my father said, "never underestimate the ability of smart people to do stupid thing." that is exactly what happened here. -- pay ang to play a terrible price. i asked attorney general said public trust is job one. i was very aggressive. forward, coming ethics plan. period. disclosure and campaign reform because we have to take the money out of politics. marcia: how are the achievable? majority,uomo: a full

marcia. there has been a republican senate in this day almost for only twoe history -- years, 1955 and 2009. asked nothing. no campaign new marriage equality, nothing. -- they passed nothing. you have to elect democrats, and then you have to get the job done. that is the art of governing. marcia: thank you, governor, very much. ms. nixon, your response. ms. nixon: campaign-finance reform is something governor cuomo has been saying since 2010. it is not hard. loophole, byhe llc which corporations can donate an unlimited amount of money to a campaign, but governor cuomo has received $16 million through the llc loophole, more than any legislature combined.

he said he would close this would not begin to describe it strongly enough. -- hend the commission shutdown the commission. when it came too close to him. trustedhis most advisor, and he is going to jail, to prison. either joe was doing something that the governor expected him to do and advised him to do, or his right-hand man was doing something under his own knows that he had no idea about. confidence or corruption. which is it? maurice: i just want to remind our audience agreed to keep it down and to let people hear what they had to say. let's hold it down. thank you we appreciate it. governor cuomo: a response.

joe did something wrong. it was very painful, and i said i had wrote tolerance. we corroborated fully, -- cooperated fully, and he is went to pay a price. everybody agrees i had nothing to do with it, period. campaign-finance laws, you need something called the new york state legislature pass it. it happens. give the republicans control of the state senate. if you stop lying i will stop interrupting. governor cuomo: ok, one other point. the point is went up donors. undo -- the point is donors. office foryor's special favors for her friends. asked the debate if a donor called you mayor,

would you call the department of investigations and reports that a donor called you for a favor? that was marcia kramer's question to the mayoral debate candidate. cynthia nixon called the mayor's office, asked for favors for her friends. ms. nixon: i am not a corporate donor to anyone. governor cuomo: you are a corporation. ms. nixon: i do not donate. withe never donated anyone's political campaign. governor cuomo: you are a political -- a corporation. ms. nixon: i am a person. governor cuomo: and you are a corporation. but i never make political contributions through mike -- no. that is categorically untrue. and i asked for no favor. what i asked was for helicopters to stop flying -- that is not a

favor. that is a favor to the people of new york. for sarahuomo: jessica parker, that was not a favor? ms. nixon: i do not even know what you're talking about. governor cuomo: ok, if you read the paper is. maurice: we're going to move on. ms. nixon, were an early proponent for legalizing marijuana and even gave away a bong. are tryut parents who to teach their children to stay away from drug ms. nixon: i think it is very important to legalize marijuana. eight other states have done it on the plus the district of columbia. states have done it, plus the district of columbia. the arrests for marijuana are 80% black and keynote.

and latino.lack when this comes to new york, we have to prioritize those who have been the most harmed by the war on drugs. model the massachusetts and prioritize this community, for small business loans and we need tort, and use the tens of millions of dollars that we will have in revenue to invest in those that have been targeted and paper jobs and training and education programs, and we need to parole people who are in jail for marijuana arrest, and we need to expunge their records and use some of the tax revenue for them to reenter, and what i would say if we are not talking about children smoking marijuana, right? we're talking about adults, and we're talking about marijuana in new york state being legal for white before a long time, and it

is time to make it legal for everybody else. -- for a long time, and it is time to make it legal for everybody else. about parents who do not want their kids to use drugs? right now, people do not choose marijuana because of its legality or illegality, but what we stop is the very uneven people for marijuana for of color. it is happening across the country, and would be a major moon for york state, not just in terms of reforming our criminal justice system -- would be a state,oom for new york not just in terms of reforming our criminal justice system but for agriculture. maurice: governor? governor cuomo: it starts with lack of jobs and opportunities. that is where it starts.

in the criminal justice itself, it is also prevalent. coincidence that people in jail are people of color and poor. that is why i started 15 years reforming the rockefeller drug laws, which made a fantastic difference. i worked with congressman jeffries on criminalizing low levels of marijuana. the senate would not pass it, but we worked on it, that was a positive debt. -- step. i had a report done in january that says it makes sense. new jersey is doing it. massachusetts is doing. doing it.es are i disagree with my opponent that the money should go to reparations. but i do believe the benefits outweigh the risks. that was the conclusion of a panel of experts. ms. nixon: you said it was a gateway drug, and it was not

until our campaign started fighting for it that you completely changed. governor cuomo: facts. i did it in january. ms. was before ms. sent -- nixon was in the race. maurice: what do you say? governor cuomo: i talked to my children about it. i experimented with marijuana in college. i have talked about the options and the risks, and my children and iw older, frankly, have given them the best counseling that i can. they are in their 20's, and they are going to make their own decision. and i believe i have given them the information and the advice and the guidance to make responsible choices. maurice: thank you. marcia: governor, the next question goes for you. the second span of the mario completed,e will be

and people wonder why there is no announcement. they are also concerned about the name. what about making it the mario cuomo tappan zee bridge? governor cuomo: we have the most aggressive construction program in the united states. we have done more since robert moses, believe it or not. the toll is going to be the same from 20, and then the tappan zee bridge -- then it is going to depend on the finances. the finances of the transportation system. what needs to happen in a few years is the have to come up with a justification on all of these tolls. are some bridges that are $14 and some that are $5, some seven dollars, so over the next years, we're going to have to take a good look.

marcia: people with the tappan zee bridge have to pay more. they are worried that they are going to have to pay for the bridge out of their pockets. the toll ismo: frozen for the next two years, period, and, by the way, the only bridge that has a toll frozen. another doesn't have that guarantee, so the people on the tappan zee bridge not only get a brand-new bridge, more lanes, a faster commute, they get the only guarantee in the system that there is no toll increase for two years. called it thest "tappan zee bridge," not the mario cuomo bridge. why not call it the "mario cuomo tappan zee bridge"? governor cuomo: there is no more tappan zee bridge. and we named it in honor of my

father, governor burial cuomo. marcia: there are people who are concerned about losing cap and the. -- losing the tappan zee. this was noto: even a discussion at the time, and we gave that name. ms. nixon? mr. cuomo washink a great man, and i think he deserves to have something named for him. son not think that when his is running for reelection it is necessarily ok. marcia: you just said you should .ame something for mario cuomo what about a tribute to a governor who served so many terms? ms. nixon: i think with the tappan zee bridge, what happened

was this was pushed through in the dead of night without a discussion in the community. i think people are understandably upset about the name change. i think how much the bridge costs was also kept secret, with the plan was for mass transit on the bridge. or what the tolls were going to be. i think it is endemic of how there is not a-- lot of transparency. there are a lot of things that happened behind closed doors, and people are unhappy that they were not able to weigh in while it was in process. maurice: governor cuomo has employed troopers to control bridges, airports, also dark weights and city streets in addition to the nypd. also pathways and city streets. would you do this? at a momente are

where we cannot take our safety for granted, but, yes, i think we have better places to be spending our state revenue rather than a proliferation of state troopers. i think we need a much greater investment in our education. i think we need a greater investment in human service jobs and infrastructure across the state. you look at the way governor cuomo as soon as he came into office, he enacted tax cuts on millionaires, on billionaires, on corporations, on banks, and he has cut cumulatively 57,000 human services jobs, and the tax cuts have cut billions in revenue, and we see this -- when it comes to the troopers, should we send them back upstate to protect manatees who do not feel safe? are they who pocketed in new york state? ms. nixon: i think we need to as

a state and as a society be lawng less investment in and order and more investment in things that really make a difference in peoples's lives, education and housing and health care. yes, couple of follow-up points. with the tappan zee bridge, $4 budget, andtime, in the tolls are frozen through 2020. taxes, i think my opponent ought to be careful --ng that word currently using that word. only donald trump has less transparency. question, maurice. the state troopers are not on city streets doing normal police work. when -- theyloyed

with the in attachment cashless tolling. essence.he when we took out the toll booths, someone said you could drive right through and not pay, and no one will stop you, and the government agencies were afraid of losing resources, and that was the point for the state police. and also -- maurice: why not nypd? governor cuomo: the state as a possibility -- responsibility and would have lost money. also, a fact to correct the fiction. the most i passed aggressive tax code in the state of new york. 's tax, theillionaire second highest in the united states of america combined with the city tax, and i passed it three times. that is my tax policy. maurice: all right, governor.

would likecan i -- i to say that i did release my one year of tax returns as soon as i entered the race, which is more than andrew cuomo did when he ran in 2010. he did not release it until after the election. i've released a few are more years recently, and that is all i have to say about it. more yearsed four recently, and that is all i have to say about it. governor cuomo: on a friday. only donald trump -- ms. nixon: and they did not write anything about it because there was nothing to it. governor cuomo: so why would you do it without any notice? ms. nixon: in 2010, you did not release them until after the election. i did more. you have a whole different set of rules for me than you do for you, and i do not think that is fair. i've released:

taxes for 20 years. will you? i did not think so. those were my rules. you do not release the taxes until after the election. inernor cuomo: 20 years, not three hours. maurice: so you see differently on this. ms. nixon: yes. 12rice: giving workers up to weeks of paid bereavement leave after the death of a family member. someone said they should not have to fear losing their job if they need time to mourn, but this would cripple them. would you sign this? weernor cuomo: it is a bill are looking at. it is very consistent with our paid family leave, which is the most aggressive paid family leave bill in the united states of america, which gives up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for just this type of situation.

how the bereavement bill fits with the paid family leave till is something that i am looking at, because the issue is critical. an employee, your wife gets pregnant, your father gets sick, your mother gets sick, you say, "i would like to take some time off because i'm going to lose them," the employer right now could say, "goodbye," and we have been representing the working men and women of this state. it is the union sue have been taking it on the chin, and the working men and women -- it is who have been taking it on the chin. will be included or dovetailed with the family leave law. much,e: is 12 weeks too too little, or just right? it is eightmo:

weeks now, but we plan to take it to 12 weeks. maurice: what do you tell employers? governor cuomo: you know what? employees have rights, and if you lose a loved one or have a child, both ends of the spectrum, we believe employees should have rights. it was difficult, as you said. i fought for it. i got it passed. the business community was opposed to it for the reasons you pointed out, but i do work to protect workers and give rights to workers and paid family leave is one of those things that does it. maurice: ok, thank you, governor. ms. nixon? ms. nixon: i would say there are a number of issues in which andrew cuomo claims credit but which it is something he has been forced into by labor, like the $15 minimum wage, but now he

calls himself a champion on it. and months before he passed the $15 minimum wage, he said it was a nonstarter. wasaid the $13 minimum wage too much and was advocating for $10 $.50. the same for paid family leave. a his first term, he declared war on unions, which is why the koch brothers gave him $87,000 when he ran in 2010, because they knew his policies were going to benefit millionaires like them and corporations like theirs and were going to gut public pensions, which is what he did. canrnor cuomo: if i respond, because you cannot have so many accusations that are so false? upsetk my opponent is with the koch brothers, because they are the only ones who take more corporate tax loopholes than she does. ,n terms of catering to donors i am not the one who gave

$50,000 to politically affiliated organizations who turned around and endorsed me, so this is not the behavior that i do. i have no idea what she is when she says "labor" forced me. i was never in war with the labor unions. -- how am i with labor? applause]d governor cuomo: ok, so nobody forced me to do anything with labor. marcia: the next question is on labor, and it goes to you, ms. nixon. you want to give rights for striking, opening work stoppages for many groups. a transit strike in 2005 paralyzed the city. mayor deblasio said he is against it. why do you think this is a good idea? ms. nixon: we are at a moment of unprecedented attacks on labor. with the janus decision, with

corporate power unbridled, and our labor unions are the most important counterbalance we have two unbridled corporate power and greed. i think it is really important that public sector workers be allowed to strike. the amendment was something that allowed contracts to continue, and actually, the tailored laws which outlawed public sector striking, it was the triborough amendment. because the amendment, of contracts continuing, even after they have expired, there is no real way for public sector contracto get a debtor other than cozying up to someone might governor cuomo, and i therethat labor unions --

is no real way for public sector workers to get a better contract other than cozying up to someone like governor cuomo. to be allowed to strike, not only for their families and to get health they actually struck also for the kids in those schools because these schools were so gleefully --erfunded -- so gleefully lethally underfunded. i think they need to have every tool in their toolkit. marcia: even if it paralyzes the city? workers do not one to strike. they only strike when they see no other recourse, and if you strike, if you lost in the public opinion, you have lost. you can only successfully strike when the public is sympathetic. marcia: governor cuomo? governor cuomo: organized labor

is under attack. that is why i think ms. nixon was wrong to attack those and blamed him for the construction issues. as far as her idea on the taylor law, i think it is a terrible idea. if you allow the public sector unions to strike, teachers could go on strike, there it be no school, children would not be educated, and everybody started by saying "education is so important," right? sanitation has gone on strike, which is even a health concern for the city. the subway which we talked about which is so important, that could go on strike, and that that could cripple the city. even the public unions that you suggest should have the right to strike actually do not want the right to strike. mayor deblasio -- she has contributed money to -- even he disagrees with her. so it would be complete mayhem.

after organized labor unions. he is trying to stop the public unions with the janus decision, trump. we have to stand up to trot. new york has to stand up for the working men and women. the labor movement that builds do notdle class, and we to create mayhem. we have to stand shoulder to working middleur class and our brothers and sisters in labor unions. the tragedyhas seen of homeless people on our streets every single day, many suffering from mental illness, what police are prevented by state law from removing them except under extreme conditions. tould the lobby changed allow homeless people to be taken off for the streets against their will for their safety and the safety of others? the law is you

cannot incarcerate a person involuntarily or take them to a mental health facility unless they are in imminent risk to themselves or others. that is a basic civil rights law. i've worked in homeless care for 25 years. 20's helping the homeless. i was president clinton's secretary of housing and urban development, working on poverty across the country and on homelessness issues across the country. i have been in shelters all across the country. work if theing to police have to force a mentally ill person into a shelter, because even if you bring them to the shelter, you cannot keep them there as a matter of law. involuntarye institutionalization. we need a shelter system and a mental health system that works to get we know how to do it. they are called "safe havens,"

and slowly, you develop trust, and you bring them into a safe, clean, decent shelter. most homeless people leave the shelters because they are dangerous. irrational act to leave a shelter. in many ways, it is a rational act. the violence in shelters is at an all-time high. people are getting killed, and that is why they are leaving the shelters. we need a better shelter system. we need more mental health beds. communityre residences for people who are mentally ill on a permanent going tot you are not force people by law, by violating their civil liberties, into a shelter system that is dangerous. maurice: ms. nixon? ms. nixon: yes, i agree. we cannot force them into shelters, and the city can make a bigger investment, and the state can make a bigger

investment in ending homelessness, but we have such a large homelessness situation because we have a housing crisis, and i do not think it is any coincidence that we have one wethe largest housing crises have ever seen in this state when the number one country bitter to andrew cuomo's campaigns -- the number one contributor to andrew cuomo a positive campaigns are real estate firms, and we need to not only renew the rent laws when they expire next year but to strengthen them and to expand them, because, frankly, gentrification is pushing them out, particularly black and brown people out of the community as they have grown up in, and it is a tremendous problem, and we need rent protections, not just for buildings built before 1974 and with the regulations now that across the state. it is the number one issue that people upstate, downstate talk to me about. 30 seconds.mo:

there is no doubt that we have an affordable housing crisis. the number ofed units kept in the system under rent control for the first time in 40 years. we have to do more. we have to raise the vacancy controls. we have the largest investment in history, $20 million, and the city needs to be a part of it, which ms. nixon keeps leaving out, and housing is a national disgrace. i know it is politically sensitive, but we are losing thousands, and that is one of the main problems. maurice: thank you, governor. we have a series of short-answer questions here, short answers. governor cuomo: i do not know if we can do short. maurice: you have the technology. this is for you, ms. nixon. sports gambling is up and running in new jersey. do you support it? ms. nixon: i think it has to be

study closer, but if i have to give a short answer, no. maurice: governor cuomo? governor cuomo: under the right conditions, and that is something that has to be looked at and done intelligently so there are not abuses. ok, the next question is to both of you, but i will start with you, governor. do you want mayor deblasio's endorsement? governor cuomo: i love mayor deblasio. i am sure he loves me in a strange sort of way. years, we have a dysfunctional relationship. he makes his own political decisions, not me. marcia: yes or no? governor cuomo: yes or no, he makes his own decisions. marcia: ms. nixon, do you want mayor deblasio's endorsement? ms. nixon: i am running on my own, and this has nothing to do

with any endorsement i have gotten or have not gotten but on a vision of new york as a real progressive begin -- beacon. maurice: is that a yes or a no? ms. nixon: it is neither. maurice: this one is for you. given your wealth in the tens of millions of dollars -- which is not true. you cannot release google. governor cuomo: if you release your taxes, we would know. ms. nixon: i have, five years. maurice: democratic socialism. will you forgo the governor's salary and turn it back to the state? ms. nixon: sure. maurice: no salary. ms. nixon: no salary. maurice: maybe a dollar. ms. nixon: $1. governor cuomo: if my opponent is a socialist and is for higher

corporate taxes, why did she not dissolved and stop the corporate loopholes and pay her fair share of taxes? do pay my fair share of taxes. having a corporation is something that actors do all of the time, like being a small business owner or being a freelance worker. governor cuomo: they do not have corporate benefits. ms. nixon: i am, in fact, a small business owner. maurice: we want to thank both of you for a very spirited debate, and we also want to thank hofstra university. dubois along with marcia kramer, and we will see you on the news tonight. thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] announcer: you have been watching the new york democratic gubernatorial debate.

remember to vote, and for more information on the candidates, go to cbsnewyork.com. ♪ >> here's some of what we're covering thursday on the c-span networks. 10:00 eastern, the stimson center hosted a about taiwan foreign policy and relations with neighbors. at 8:00 p.m., president trump at in evansville,y indiana, for senate candidate braun and on c-span2 at 9:00 eastern, live coverage from foundation on a discussion about russian

interference and u.s. elections. up with psbd research for a survey on american attitudes about the u.s. supreme court. kavanaugh's nomination, 35 oppose and 26% have no opinion. 91% say the high court's decisions affect their everyday lives. say justices are split and 64% say the court should allow