Law and order has been a prevailing theme for John A. Catsimatidis, the billionaire Republican candidate who has repeatedly pledged to keep “hoodlums†off the streets. In a 30-second spot, “Safe,†Mr. Catsimatidis warns that one rival in particular, Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, could fall short in this arena.
The reference is to recent legislation passed by the City Council that expands New Yorkers’ ability to sue police officers for bias-based profiling. In asserting that the Council would “silence†the police, Mr. Catsimatidis is echoing a common complaint from critics of the bill, who charge that with the threat of litigation, officers would feel less comfortable describing suspects. Supporters of the legislation say the bill’s language allows officers to stop any suspect, regardless of race or gender, when they have a compelling reason to do so.
Although Ms. Quinn, as speaker, allowed the bill to come to a vote, she voted against it. (The bill passed by a wide margin, but was later vetoed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.) Ms. Quinn’s ‘no’ vote has not stopped rivals from attacking her for supporting a separate policing-related bill, which would create an inspector general to monitor and review policy at the Police Department.
Mr. Catsimatidis’s pledge in the ad to retain the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, is a reiteration of a promise he, like several Democratic and Republican mayoral candidates, has made on the campaign trail. Mr. Kelly, whose image appears in the ad, has not yet endorsed a candidate in the race.
With its ominous emergency lights and scenes of police cruisers, the commercial suggests that Mayor Catsimatidis would take public safety seriously â€" while warning viewers, somewhat misleadingly, that Ms. Quinn would not.
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