Joseph J. Lhota keeps his friends close â€" and, apparently, his enemies closer. In his first television commercial of the general campaign, Mr. Lhota, the Republican nominee for mayor of New York, takes pains to highlight the similarities between himself and his Democratic opponent, Bill de Blasio, who is surging in the polls. The ad ends with one main point of contrast that Mr. Lhota hopes will sway voters wary about the city’s fiscal future.
A libertarian on social issues, Mr. Lhota supports the full legalization of marijuana, putting him arguably to the left of his Democratic opponent on this issue. Mr. de Blasio has not called for legalization, but he has supported measures, including one proposed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug.
It is true that Mr. de Blasio has pledged to raise taxes on New Yorkers who earn more than $500,000 a year, to pay for prekindergarten classes, while Mr. Lhota, a fiscal hawk, is opposed to tax increases. But the term “reckless†is subjective â€" Mr. Lhota’s campaign has said Mr. de Blasio will be too generous to municipal labor unions; Mr. de Blasio argues he will not be fiscally irresponsible.
As a Republican facing a heavily Democratic electorate, Mr. Lhota must convince New Yorkers that he is ideologically palatable, hence the emphasis on his downright liberal social views. (At one point, the ad’s narrator chirps, “Democrats agree!â€) But his message of “putting more money back in your pocket†has not yet resonated: in a poll on Thursday, 35 percent of voters said they thought taxes would go up if Mr. de Blasio wins in November. Thirty-seven percent said the same about Mr. Lhota.
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