Joseph J. Lhota is seen by many as the leading Republican candidate for mayor, but on television, another Republican has been more visible: John A. Catsimatidis, who is campaigning with his own money. On Monday, Mr. Lhota, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and deputy mayor for Rudolph W. Giuliani, began running a new television advertisement, his first in over two months. The 30-second spot, titled “Serious,†is appearing on cable and broadcast stations.
Few would contest the assertion that the mayoral primary has become a circus. In a Siena College poll released on Monday, 62 percent of New York City voters said the national attention attracted by Mr. Weiner and a candidate for comptroller, Eliot Spitzer, was embarrassing.
The advertisement accurately quotes the headline of an editorial by The Daily News that applauded Mr. Lhota’s stance against retroactive pay for city workers.
The praise attributed to The Post is not from an editorial, but an opinion column written by Charles Gasparino, a correspondent for the Fox Business Network.
The quotation of The New York Times is from an editorial, but the assertion was referring specifically to developing policies to protect the city from future storms like Hurricane Sandy. The editorial proceeded to note that, as of June, Mr. Lhota did not appear to have made that a priority in his campaign.
In a race filled with scandal and personal revelations, Mr. Lhota is seeking to draw attention to his strongest credential in the race for mayor: his long record of no-nonsense government service.
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