The event was sponsored by the city's ethnic and foreign language press, and there were few surprises, except when a reporter from the Chinese language daily World Journal stood up and asked, "Senator Schneiderman has run an impressive campaign so far. He has received more than 100 endorsements. I'm just wondering how the other three candidates think about Senator Schneiderman campaign. Do they feel threatened?"

After a brief chuckle, and a response from Schneiderman in Chinese that I didn't quite catch the other candidates piped up.

"Uh, no," said Richard Brodsky. "It's an interesting way to phrase the problem I think this campaign is only beginning in the last ten days. There has been a dramatic lack of attention...I think you are going to see a lot of attention paid to things like civil commitments of sexual predators. I think you are going to see a lot of attention paid to environmental matters...So as impressed as obviously you are with Senator Schneiderman's campaign, afterwards, we'll talk and maybe I can impress you one third as much."

Next came Sean Coffey, who said, "Senator Schneiderman often says he has the broadest coalition. I don't think you can say that anymore Senator. Someone pointed out to me this morning that I have endorsements that range from Senator Al Franken to the New York Post. I think that is pretty broad. By the way, who here knew my name three months ago? Nobody. So everybody who endorses me is taking a political risk...because we have folks who have been around a long time, a real long time."

At which point Brodsky, who seemed to think this was a slight to him, interjected, "Well, I don't look it."

"You look great," Coffey said. "And everybody I got has said, you know what, it's time for something different."

Eric Dinallo pointed out that he has been endorsed by the Daily News and Crain's in recent days, and said, "I think this is truly a wide open campaign. Some of my opponents have spent now collectively several hundred million dollars in advertisements, and the latest polls show really no one knows anyone, and I include myself in that since I've been at this since August."

Nassau district attorney Kathleen Rice led all comers in the poll with 4 percent. Her nearest rival, state Senator Eric Schneiderman, came in with 3, and Assembly member Richard Brodsky and private practice attorney Sean Coffey each got 1 percent. Former Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo didn't register at all.

Supporters and staffers of the campaigns all have their own spin. For Brodsky and Dinallo, the results show that the advertising push from the other three hasn't gotten them much traction. Rice's backers could take comfort that yet another poll showed her with the lead.  Schneiderman fans say that the poll shows that no one is paying attention, and a low-turnout primary favors them, since they have the most labor and grassroots support.

But many say that the poll is fundamentally flawed.

The poll surveyed 866 registered Democrats, instead of polling prime voters or even those who identify themselves as certain to vote. Instead of giving respondants a list of names and asking them to pick one--which would have at the very least given a sense of who has the highest name i.d.--respondents were asked who they are voting for. Thus, 8 percent of respondent named somebody not running.

"It was the single most useless set of questions ever asked in the history of polling," said one Democratic operative. "We should take nothing from this and move on."

This operative even predicted that if the same poll was taken the day before the election it would yield similar results.

Maurice Carroll, the director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute, seemed to agree, saying the poll was not meant to show who is in the lead in the election,  but merely who is paying attention. And the answer, it seems, is nobody.

"There is no great interest in this race right now," he said from a pay phone in Grand Central, where he was waiting to take a train back to Quinnipiac headquarters in Connecticut. "So there is absolutely no way to predict who is going to win."

dfreedlander@observer.com

Richard Brodsky: On Saturday, local community events in Brooklyn and the Irish festival in Manhattan. On Sunday, churches in the Bronx, and local community events in Manhattan.

Sean Coffey: On Saturday, attending community Family Days in Queens and Brooklyn, including one with Councilwoman Diana Reyna. On Sunday, he will attend two church services in Brooklyn, including one with Congressman Ed Towns.

Eric Dinallo: Walking in the Hon. Percy Sutton Harlem 5k Run and NYC Family Health Walk-a-Thon and celebrating Harlem Week afterwards in St. Nicholas Park.

Kathleen Rice: Saturday - two community events in Nassau County, a polish street fair in Suffolk County and Greek event in Suffolk County. Sunday - Brooklyn churches.

Eric Schneiderman: On Saturday, making campaign stops in Western New York, including visits with community leaders and voters in Niagara County. On Sunday, he will be attending multiple churches in Staten Island and the Bronx, and meeting with Jewish leaders in Rockland County.

The campaign-finance gurus over at NYPIRG however have run their numbers and they say that Rice's methodology is flawed. Campaigns do not have to itemize how much they have raised from donors who give under $100, and so there is no way of knowing, as Rice's campaign claims, that just 12 percent of Eric Schneiderman's campaign donations were from donors who gave less than $100, or that just 16 percent of Sean Coffey's money come from low-dollar, grassroots donations.

According to Bill Mahoney, a researcher with NYPIRG, 99.9 percent of campaigns in New York State do not list donors under $100, since there is simply too much paperwork and the law does not require it. By listing each of her two-digit dollar amount and under donors, Rice inflated her number of donors when compared side-by-side with her competitors.

"If she itemized all of her contributions, no matter how small, she was able to add several hundred donors to her total," he said. "She says, for example, that Eric Schneiderman received 129 donations, but he definitely received more than that. We just have no way of knowing how many he received because he did not itemize his donations."

In fact, Mahoney says, when comparing apples to apples--when comparing how much money from checks $100 or under each campaign received as a percentage of their fundraising this calendar--Rice has received the least of any of the candidates, with just .61 percent of her total money raised coming from small donors. The candidate whose war chest is the most filled with small dollar donations is Richard Brodsky, who has raised close to 3% of his total from small checks.

The Rice campaign meanwhile noted that they had more small donor cash than their competitors, and said that they itemized each of their donations not to inflate their totals but for transparency's sake.

"We think grassroots support and transparency are good things," said Eric Phillips, Rice's spokesman. "According to these public reports, we have far more donors and far more low-dollar, grassroots contributions than any other candidate in the race. I don't think this is a function of other campaigns lacking transparency, but a function of our grassroots support.  But there's no doubt that we're proud to have been the most transparent and the most detailed in our disclosure report."

It is a clear shot across the bow at state Senator Eric Schneiderman, who touted his own grassroots support when he announced his fundraising numbers last week.

The campaign notes that nearly half of Rice's contributions were for $100 or less, while only 12 percent of Schneiderman's were and 16 percent of Sean Coffey's were.

"During these difficult economic times, nearly 600 people dug into their pockets over the last month and gave money to the candidate they believe can best clean up Albany, hold Wall Street accountable and protect their families," says Rice campaign manager Jeffrey Stein. "Those hard-working New Yorkers have put District Attorney Rice in position to win this race."

Rice has come under fire for receiving a boatload of money from Weitz & Luxenburg, a personal injury law firm that employs Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

The release also points out that both Schneiderman and Coffey "have used their personal fortunes to fund large portions of their respective campaigns," Schneiderman to the tune of $305,000 and Coffey with $3 million.

While this puts him well-behind Kathleen Rice, who raised $620,000 in the past month and has more than $4.4 million on hand, Dinallo is ahead of Richard Brodsky, who raised $47,000 in the past month and now has $1.5 million on hand.

Will update with more numbers as they come in.

Sean Coffey: NAACP event on Saturday.  On Sunday, he'll be attending church services and Harlem Day activities.

Eric Dinallo: On Saturday, the National Organization for Women - NYS candidate meeting in Albany. Afterwards, headed to Kingston for a day on the campaign trail that will include a visit to the Kingston Farmers Market.

Kathleen Rice: Saturday - National Organization of Women event in Albany, NAACP event in Rochester. Sunday - Buffalo and Binghamton campaign stops.

Eric Schneiderman: Will be speaking at the NYS NOW Attorney General and Governor's candidates forum in Albany and attending church services, family days, block parties and meetings with community leaders in Brooklyn and Queens.

Sean Coffey: Attending a festival in Binghamton and the Ulster County Fair on Saturday. Attending church services in Brooklyn on Sunday and campaigning in Long Island and Queens.

Eric Dinallo: The Dominican Day Parade on Sunday.

Kathleen Rice: Events in Flushing, Harlem and Freeport on Saturday and Brooklyn churches on Sunday.

Eric Schneiderman: In New York City. Attending several churches and participating in the Dominican Day Parade festivities.

Richard Brodsky:  Hitting street fairs and block parties in Brooklyn and Queens, then heading to the Yiddish Fest in Westchester County. On Sunday, he is slated to attend the Pakistani Day Parade in Manhattan.

Sean Coffey: Opening his new Brooklyn office in North Park Slope, knocking on doors in the neighborhood and doing some retail politicking at the Grand Army Plaza Farmer's Market.

Eric Dinallo: Attending the Columbia County Democratic Picnic and the Orange County Fair.

Kathleen Rice: several stops in Suffolk County, including an office opening.  Sunday - visiting several Long Island churches and a local meet-and-greet in Huntington

Eric Schneiderman: Visiting churches in New York City, and meeting with South Asian leaders in Queens.

Like the Rockefeller Drug Law 'debate,' tax policy does not fall within the Attorney General's purview. While I absolutely agree that we should not give tax breaks to the rich at the expense of health care and education, statements like those made today do little more than show who understands what the Attorney General does and who does not.

Silent on the matter was the seldom silent Richard Brodsky. Reached by phone this afternoon, he came down firmly on the side of Schneiderman.

"Sean Coffey is out of step with President Obama. He is out of step with the Democratic Party in New York. But it is not surprising. He is a millionaire from Bronxville."

When Brodsky has trotted out this line in debates, Coffey has frequently piped up, "But a self-made millionaire from The Bronx!"

Brodsky continued, "Read his lips. No new taxes on the rich. He is fully in-step with Chris Christie and John Boehner."

Brodsky also took issue with Coffey's--and for that matter, Andrew Cuomo's--call for a property tax cap, since he said it would ultimately lead to tax increases.

"It is inevitable that people will raise to the limit. Why not seek a system that cuts property taxes. The goal should be reducing property taxes, not limiting the increase."

Brodsky also took issue with Dinallo's call to stick to issues that cross the desk of the attorney general.

"If Andrew Cuomo can talk about government consolidation without offending Eric Dinallo or anybody else, then Richard Brodsky can talk about a property tax relief."

dfreedlander@observer.com