William C. Thompson Jr., a Democratic candidate for mayor, spent much of the previous week arguing that Bill de Blasio, one of his rivals, was stretching the truth in his latest ad, which claims that Mr. de Blasio would be “the only candidate to end a stop-and-frisk era that targets minorities.†On Sunday, Mr. Thompson intensified the debate by attacking Mr. de Blasio directly in his own 30-second television advertisement, called “Lived It.†The ad marks the first time that a Democratic candidate has gone after a rival in a television ad, and comes just over two weeks before a primary vote that appears to be a tight race among Mr. Thompson, Mr. de Blasio and Christine C. Quinn.
Mr. Thompson is correct to say that Mr. de Blasio’s original ad stretches the truth when the words “Only de Blasio Will End Stop-and-Frisk Targeting of Minorities†appear on screen. But Mr. de Blasio’s ad doesn’t mention Mr. Thompson, or any other candidate, by name, making the claim that Mr. de Blasio lied about Mr. Thompson debatable.
The ad, without saying so directly, brings race to the fore, as Mr. Thompson, who is the only African-American candidate, and Mr. de Blasio, whose wife is African-American, vie for the support of black voters. Mr. de Blasio’s advertising has featured his biracial son, Dante, and has emphasized his sharp criticism of stop-and-frisk tactics, but in this new ad, Mr. Thompson claims the issue as his own, saying, “I’ve lived it.â€
And as someone who can never seem to put to rest the notion that he lacks the passion of his rivals, Mr. Thompson comes across as tougher and more forceful here, especially when he closes the spot with “That’s the truth.â€
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