Pataki Shouted Down Outside N.Y. Governor’s Mansion

Republican George Pataki was forced to abandon a campaign appearance in front of the Executive Mansion Saturday after he was shouted down by rowdy supporters of Gov. Mario M. Cuomo.

About 100 of the Pataki faithful were greeted by more than 200 shouting Cuomo supporters, many of them state workers. The rally got raucous as the two sides shoved each other and traded jeers.

Police closed off the street to the mansion for about an hour.

“Mario Cuomo has been talking for 12 years. His people won’t let me talk for 12 minutes,” Pataki tried to yell above the din.

At one point, a person was knocked to the ground, prompting one man to shout on his bullhorn: “It’s only politics! Relax!”

“Don’t be intimidated by Mario’s professional political agitators,” Pataki shouted to his supporters.

After a few minutes, Pataki left the rally surrounded by supporters chanting: “Three more days!” The Cuomo crowd also followed, shouting: “Cuomo! Cuomo!”

Later, Pataki said the incident was “very unfortunate.”

“They know we are surging . . . and they don’t want the people of this state to hear my ideas,” the first-term state senator said. “It was an organized effort to prevent me from exercising my right to speak.”

Cuomo campaigned in New York City. Independence candidate Tom Golisano got a boost Saturday with an endorsement from Ross Perot, who attended a news conference with Golisano.

Meanwhile, two polls released Saturday show Cuomo with a 6 or 7 percentage point lead over Pataki.

In a Daily News/WNBC-TV survey, 48% of the voters favored Cuomo and 41% said they would vote for Pataki. Golisano got 5%, Right-to-Life candidate Robert Walsh 1%, and 5% were undecided.

The telephone poll of 648 registered voters was conducted by Lewis Harris & Associates between Oct. 31 and last Friday. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

A New York 1 NewsPoll also has Cuomo ahead of Pataki, 46% to 40%, with Golisano pulling in 7%.

The telephone poll by the cable TV news network of 770 voters was conducted Nov. 1-4. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.