Thanks to his considerable fortune, John A. Catsimatidis has been a steady presence on television as he seeks the Republican nomination for mayor. His advertisements so far have touted his rags-to-riches biography and his commitment to public safety. Now, three weeks before the primary, he is going on the attack against his main Republican rival, Joseph J. Lhota. Mr. Lhota is the focus of a 30-second commercial, “3 Things,†that began airing Friday. A second new commercial, “Cares About Us,†also criticizes Mr. Lhota.
The bridge tolls refer to a single bridge, the Verrazano, and a one-way fare, collected entering Staten Island. The toll is $15 when paid in cash, but $10.66 when paid using E-ZPass.
The current $2.50 base subway fare is the highest fare ever, although, adjusted for inflation, it is not the highest on record, nor is the average fare paid per trip, according to a report by the city’s Independent Budget Office. But Mr. Lhota has repeatedly defended the fare increases, noting that they had been scheduled before he took charge of the transit authority. A rescue package devised in 2009 by Gov. David A. Paterson and the State Legislature established a plan for biennial fare increases, and the transit authority is planning to raise fares again in 2015 and 2017.
Mr. Catsimatidis also has little basis to give the impression that, as mayor, he will stop any future fare or toll increases. Transit fares are set by the authority, which the mayor does not control.
At a campaign forum in May, Mr. Lhota described the police officers for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as “nothing more than mall cops.†Mr. Lhota later apologized.
Mr. Lhota did not create the position of authority chairman; he was nominated for it by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. And while Mr. Lhota did earn $332,500 in that position, that represented a significant pay cut from his previous job as an executive at the Madison Square Garden Company.
Mr. Catsimatidis’s decision to attack Mr. Lhota shows that the primary race has entered a new and more heated phase. The advertisement takes advantage of Mr. Lhota’s biggest gaffe of the campaign â€" the “mall cops†comment â€" and shows that Mr. Catsimatidis sees Mr. Lhota’s time at the transit authority as another potential vulnerability. But at the same time, Mr. Catsimatidis is clearly taking some liberties in suggesting he could protect New Yorkers from fare increases, which is not within the mayor’s power.
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