Sure, They're All Smiling Now ... ... But it Got Ugly 

BY MICHAEL SAUL DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU 

A DEBATE AMONG Democratic mayoral hopefuls yesterday turned into a duel between Anthony Weiner and Gifford Miller - and a suddenly desperate bid for enough votes to stay in the race and take on front-runner Fernando Ferrer.

Ferrer has a stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in the Democratic field, but recent polls have showed that second place - and a shot at a runoff after the Sept. 13 primary - is up for grabs.

That set the stage for heavy sparring between Weiner, a congressman representing parts of Brooklyn and Queens, and Miller, the City Council speaker, during yesterday's WCBS-TV debate. "There is a disagreement at this table about whether or not we should cut taxes like I want to do," Weiner said. "I think we do have to go into a different direction," he declared.

"We have lost three straight municipal elections. The same old rhetoric will not work."

In response, Miller said he agreed with middle-income tax cuts but criticized Weiner's plan to pay for ongoing expenses with cuts to the capital plan.

"I don't think the way to do that is to propose a tax cut that you can't really pay for, and the congressman's cut is frankly paid for by gimmicks," he said.

Gesturing toward Miller with his hand, Weiner shot back: "This is what the problem [is] with the status quo of our party.

"If you don't think we can't cut out waste - at least 5% like I propose - you shouldn't be mayor because there's at least 5% waste in every single budget."

Miller retorted that he "presided over four tough budgets in which I've cut more than $3 billion out of the budget."

He advanced another attack on Weiner by criticizing his notion that a crackdown on Medicaid fraud could yield hundreds of millions of dollars in savings.

Miller said those savings couldn't happen "overnight" - prompting Weiner to hit back.

"The idea that proposing savings in Medicaid by eliminating fraud is so offensive to your sensibilities shows why we need a change in our party," he said.

Later, Miller was attacked for failing to reopen all six firehouses closed by Mayor Bloomberg shuttered several years ago. Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields said she would reopen them if she wins.

Miller called it a "terrible mistake" to shutter the firehouses, but he said he didn't have the power to stop Bloomberg, and Weiner seized on the remark.

"You can't, in the same campaign, say, 'I passed these tough budgets, but I'm not accountable for the bad things in them,' " he said. "Frankly, the firehouses were closed under your watch."

Ferrer generally stayed above the fray but tussled with Weiner over his controversial plan for a Wall Street tax.

Throughout the debate, Fields talked vaguely about creating "growth" in the economy. Afterward, she told reporters there would be no tax cut in the first year of her administration.

Until last week, Fields had a grip on second place among Democrats but is now in a virtual tie with Miller and Weiner. The No. 2 berth is crucial because if no one garners 40% or more in the primary, there would be a runoff between the two top vote-getters two weeks later.