Alair Townsend Debates Ed Koch: "She had the better book!"

Steven A. Levine
Coordinator for Educational Programs

As we approach tomorrow night's mayoral debate at the CUNY Graduate Center, I thought it was a good time to look at how other candidates prepared for a debate by watching a video of Deputy Mayor Alair Townsend describe her experiences as Mayor Ed Koch's practice debate partner in 1985.

 

To prepare for his debate against City Council President Carol Bellamy, his Democratic Primary opponent, Ed Koch chose Townsend. Townsend claimed she was chosen because she had glasses and high cheek bones like Bellamy, but it is also clear she was a more than worthy debate opponent.  When his campaign adviser David Garth told Koch that Townsend had beat him after the first mock debate, Ed Koch responded by saying, "She had the better [debate] book!"  Watch Alair Townsend describe the debate, her preparation and the debate book in this interview with the La Guardia and Wagner Archives' Tara Jean Hickman.

Ed Koch for Mayor 1985 Campaign Commercials

Steven A. Levine

Coordinator for Educational Programs

 

When Ed Koch ran for a third term as mayor in 1985, he won handily against a divided opposition, but what is striking to me was the lack of polish in his commercials.  The endorsements by the "regular people" seem unrehearsed and Mayor Koch does not even appear in them.  The commercials seem to emphasize that whatever the critics might say, the people still supported Koch.  They raise the question of whether the supporters were given lines to read or were they expressing their support sincerely?  With the exception of actor Vincent Gardenia's endorsement, they seem more coarsely produced than those of today.  Media wizard David Garth effectively demonstrated Koch's support by the common man and woman.  The election results that year confirmed this perception. Take a few minutes to watch the video to see what you think.