GOP State Sen. Frank Padavan and his Democratic challenger, City Councilman James Gennaro, faced off in a rare one-on-one debate this week that pushed their race into the spotlight.
Padavan, who has represented the 11th Senate District in northeast Queens since 1973, emphasized his record of service, while Gennaro charged Republicans in Albany have shortchanged the city.
"The Senate majority doesn't work and it's providing a leadership that's taken the city in the wrong direction," Gennaro said during the televised debate Monday night on New York 1's "Inside City Hall."
Gennaro pointed out that even Mayor Bloomberg - who has endorsed Padavan's reelection bid - has complained that the city gives more money to the state government than it receives.
But Padavan countered by saying the city gets millions in subsidies for the City University of New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Medicaid and other services.
"If you really analyze what happens out of Albany, a great deal does work," Padavan said.
The Padavan-Gennaro contest is being eyed as one of the races that could help tip the balance of power in Albany. Democrats, who already control the Assembly, are trying to overturn the GOP's slim majority in the Senate.
At one point, Gennaro raised Padavan's hackles when he tried to paint Padavan as an arch conservative who voted against a bill that required hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims.
Padavan accused Gennaro of misrepresenting the situation, saying he voted for the bill at a later date. He voted against an earlier bill because it would have bypassed a review by a committee.
Gennaro said he was referring to a 2005 bill that would have provided over-the-counter emergency contraception for victims of date rape.
Near the end of the debate, Padavan pulled out a proclamation signed by Gennaro and other Council members several years ago that honored his work as a state senator.
"You held me up as the gold standard," Padavan said.
"You certainly have done some good things," Gennaro responded, adding with a laugh: "If you are waiting for me to endorse you during this debate, I'm not going to do it, Frank."
