Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis took a ribbing from his rivals yesterday for skipping a televised debate in Queens.
“I hope John’s OK,” deadpanned Joe Lhota after Catsimatidis missed a taped discussion hosted by Queens Public Television Thursday night.
The supermarket mogul’s absence left Lhota to spar only with George McDonald.
McDonald speculated that Catsimatidis wanted to reach voters in another way. “I don’t have a clue why he’s not here. I guess when you can spend that much money on television ads . . . Maybe debates are too difficult for him,” McDonald said.
But Catsimatidis’ reps said he had never agreed to attend and was on the campaign trail at the time. Photos sent out yesterday showed him making stops in Brooklyn Thursday night, including at an NYPD boxing match in Coney Island and at the Seaside Summer Concert.
The latest Marist/Wall Street Journal/NBC4 poll shows Lhota ahead with 33 percent, Catsimatidis at 22 percent and McDonald at 12 percent in the Republican primary. One-third of voters are still undecided.
John Catsimatidis
* Description: Cuddly, friendly fat cat.
* Missing from: Queens public-TV station.
* Haircut: Frizzy combover.
* Last seen: Attending a Brooklyn concert by has-been Huey Lewis.
* Frequently visits: GOP hotbeds in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens—along with the aisles of city Gristedes stores.
* Reward: who knows, but he’s got billions!