By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Kathleen Rice, the financial frontrunner in the state Attorney General's race, was a no-show at Tuesday morning's debate, leaving a chair at centerstage conspicuously empty.
Still, her challengers peppered the absentee Nassau County district attorney's vacant seat with questions.
Rice campaign spokesman Eric Phillips brushed off the absence as a scheduling conflict, saying she was busy at work.
"We’ve been at three joint appearances over the last seven days," Phillips said. "We go to as many events as we can, mindful that the District Attorney has a day job."
Rice is also planning to skip a second debate sponsored by the New York Democratic Lawyers Council at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo law school in Greenwich Village Tuesday night, her office said.
State Sen. Eric Schneiderman asked Rice in absentia she first registered as a Democrat just five years ago. Sean Coffey, a former federal prosecutor, asked why she prohibits her employees from working part-time.
The remaining candidates at Tuesday morning's debate, held at the CUNY Graduate Center in Midtown and by the City Hall newspaper, sparred over a variety of topics, including Wall Street, the banking industry and the proposed Ground Zero mosque and community center.
"There are some things that are just insensitive," Assemblyman Richard Brodsky said about the plan. He likened the proposal to a Japanese peace group trying to build a monument next to Pearl Harbor.
Meanwhile, Schneiderman was once again asked about a minor car accident where an aide apparently hit a NY1 executive's parked car and busted a tail light. The network dubbed the incident a "hit and run," but Schneiderman said that neither he nor his driver realized any damage had been done.
"I've answered all the questions about this," he said. "It's time to move on."
Campaign finance disclosures released last week showed Rice with a healthy lead in fundraising over the other Attorney General candidates, with a war chest of more than $4.1 million. Coffey was her closest rival money-wise, with roughly $2.5 million.
