Dinkins Lead Slips in Race for N.Y. Mayor, Polls Show : Politics: The margins vary, but surveys agree that recent controversies seem to have hurt the Democrat’s campaign.

Contrasting polls showed the lead of Democratic mayoral candidate David N. Dinkins to be slipping Tuesday, but the degree to which his margin was eroding remained in question.

A Daily News-WABC-TV survey showed that Dinkins had plummeted from 19 points ahead of his Republican rival Rudolph W. Giuliani to a four-point lead.

But a New York Observer poll showed Dinkins with a 20-point lead. A poll by that weekly newspaper earlier this month reported the Democratic contender with a 33-point lead.

Despite the discrepancy, both polls may be a reflection of the most recent 10 days of Dinkins’ campaign to become New York City’s first black mayor.

Dinkins, the Manhattan borough president, has been forced to deal with controversies over the true value of a stock gift he made to his son, and his campaign’s payment of $9,500 to a community activist who was once convicted on a kidnaping charge and who organized a demonstration last month that ended in battles with police.

When Sonny Carson, the activist, called a news conference last week to explain that the funds were designed to help get out the vote on primary day, he also denied being anti-Semitic. “I’m anti-white,” he said.

Dinkins then denounced Carson and said that had such comments come to his attention, Carson would never have played any role in his campaign.

New York’s heated mayoral campaign also echoed in the financial marketplace on Tuesday. Moody’s Investors Service, which rates the city’s bonds, warned that unless New York’s next mayor has a detailed plan to deal with a projected budget gap, his new administration “will face the prospect of a weakening credit outlook.”

Moody’s criticized both Dinkins and Giuliani for failing to come up with such a plan. New York faces a $528-million budget gap for the current fiscal year.

Some political analysts said that in such an economic climate, questions about Dinkins’ finances have become magnified--and are reflected in polls. Dinkins, who did not pay income taxes for four years two decades ago, has been scrutinized recently on a stock transaction with his son that may have skirted a capital gains tax bite.

In 1983, in a form he filed, Dinkins valued the stock at more than $1 million. But the same year, in another form, he valued the stock at $20,000 to $60,000. He transferred the stock in January, 1986, to his son for a $58,000 promissory note due in 1991, with interest.

Dinkins said the million-dollar figure was given to him by the chairman of the non-publicly traded company and the price he charged his son was close to the price the company had offered to redeem its shares during the same period.

The Daily News poll reported that 34% of voters were less likely to vote for Dinkins because of the new reports about his finances. The poll showed major defections among Jewish voters, white liberals and independents.

Some politicians and polling experts Tuesday questioned the Daily News-WABC-TV survey for its relatively small sample of 501 registered voters and the fact it was taken during just one day. The poll had a 5% margin of error.

Analysts pointed out the ripples from the Daily News poll may be more meaningful than the numbers themselves.

The New York Post headline on Tuesday: “Dinkins Sinkin’.”