WINS Feed of 1969 Mayoral Debate
John V. Lindsay, John J. Marchi and Mario A. Procaccino debate in the 1969 Mayoral Election, originally broadcasted on Radio Station WINS. In three rounds, the moderator, Doug Edelson, gives each candidate 5 minutes to deliver a speech which is followed by two-minute rebuttals from each candidate.
According to Marchi, Lindsay and Procaccino are both responsible for the deteriorating condition of the city, and the taxpayers cannot afford four more years of either candidate. He focuses on Mayor Lindsay's failures in education, crime, and public housing. He criticizes Procaccino for shying away from public appearances and stating opinions on real issues.
Procaccino asserts that violence, crime and pornography reign in the "cesspool presided over by fun loving John Lindsay." He argues that Black Panther leader Fred Fernandez serves as an example of Lindsay's policy of putting hardened criminals on the city payroll. He accuses Lindsay of taking ownership of his ideas and that his office discovered mismanagement of city services. Marchi, in his view, puts forth no real policies and is ignorant of city government.
Lindsay focuses on his accomplishments in office and argues that he will continue to "turn the city around" by advancing policies focused on air pollution, welfare spending, drug rehabilitation and by adding more police officers to patrol the streets in a so-called "fourth platoon." He charges that Procaccino's "shotgun statements" prove to be false and compares the technique to McCarthyism.
Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection
WNYC archives id: 151194
Municipal archives id: T7279
