Why a New York City Council candidate wants to debate Carolyn Maloney

ALBANY – It’s Maloney bullshit!

Former Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s daughter, who wants to become a city council member, dodges a debate challenge from her independent rival — so he demands her mother take the hot seat instead.

Kyle Athaide is challenging the longtime congresswoman to run against him, accusing her daughter, Virginia, of refusing to take on him in their bid for District 4, which straddles Manhattan’s East Side and Midtown.

“East Side residents deserve to see more than just a title on the ballot,” Athaide, the former president of Community Board 6, told The Post exclusively.

“My whole life, I’ve shown up and fought for my community. Virginia Maloney, on the other hand, had a primary win thanks to her family name and her mother’s connections — that’s not service, it’s succession,” he added.

“So, if Virginia doesn’t want to debate me, I’m more than willing to debate her more experienced mother, Caroline,” Athaide said. “Wherever and whenever Caroline wants to talk about the issues, I’ll be down.”

A Virginia campaign spokesperson declined to commit to discussing the general election and said there were several forums during the primary campaign.

“Virginia Maloney continues to engage with hundreds of neighbors overall, just as she did in the primary,” the delegate said.

Her mother directed questions again at her daughter’s campaign, dismissing any notion that she would enjoy Athayde’s apparent movement.

“I’m not running. She’s running, and she’s actually running her own campaign,” the elder Maloney said.

Virginia B. won Hotly contested Democratic primaries in June in the race to succeed term-limited City Councilman Keith Powers, who ran unsuccessfully in this year’s primary for Manhattan borough president.

Maloney received the primary win with 53% of the vote after the fifth round of ranked choice voting.

Virginia, who has called herself an Eastside native all her life, works at Meta and has held numerous positions in political and nonprofit groups such as Teach for America and the Lexington Democratic Club.

Her mother was a city councilwoman before going on to serve 30 years in Congress.

In addition to chairing his local community council, Athaide has worked for the New York State Office of New Americans and his current position at New York City Health and Hospitals. It runs the line of “East Side Revival.”

The race is a three-way contest between Virginia, Atheid and Republican candidate Debra Schwartzbean.