Manhattan DA Dems Debate, Cocaine Use Admitted!

The three Democratic Manhattan DA candidates debated yesterday on NY1, and immediately Leslie Crocker Snyder criticized Cyrus Vance, saying the choice was "between someone who stayed in New York during the terrible times of the ’80s and ’90s and someone who left. Cy Vance decided to move as far away as he could. (Vance moved to Seattle.) She also accused Vance of being part of an "old boy's network"—he is endorsed by outgoing DA Robert Morgenthau—and slammed him for using the term "temperament," "If you recall the recent confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor, who is a strong woman and a strong judge, and I like to think like myself, a strong woman and a strong judge, and self-made, like me.” Vance said of Snyder, "Let’s have someone who can come to the debate and talk about the policy questions that are in front of us, talk about the future of the office and try to spend less time demeaning the other candidates in the race." He and Richard Aborn also admitted to using cocaine over 30 years ago; Aborn told the News, "Just because I tried cocaine once or twice doesn't mean other people should."