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Rivals of City Council Speaker and mayoral frontrunner Christine Quinn released their second attack ad Wednesday morning, this time slamming Ms. Quinn for failing to halt the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital.
The 30-second spot, courtesy of the new political committee New York City Is Not for Sale, begins with grainy images of an emergency Read More
Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s mayoral bid suddenly found itself under attack last night when The New York Times reported that a $1 million, “A.B.Q. — anybody but Quinn” ad campaign has been started up to oppose her. But Ms. Quinn is pushing back, and in an email to her supporters this morning, she accused her opponents of undermining the public campaign finance system by letting an independent expenditure do their dirty work.
“This attack ad, funded by those closely aligned with my opponents, is an all-out effort to undermine New York City’s public campaign finance system, the most progressive system in the country and one I have worked hard to strengthen. What a disgrace,” she wrote. “But I’m not backing down, I’m standing up. And I need you to stand with me.” Read More
Earlier this week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city’s Human Resources Administration unveiled a new, rather direct ad campaign to discourage teen pregnancy featuring children citing blunt statistics about teen parents. “Honestly mom, chances are he won’t stay with you,” a baby in one ad declares, while another reads, “I’m twice as likely not to graduate high school because you had me as a teen.” The campaign, which is paired with an shame-themed choose-your-own-adventure text experience, understandably gained attention and sparked controversy.
Though City Hall seemed eager to make a splash with the in-your-face ads, other local politicians have condemned the campaign. Read More
Environmental advocates just rolled out a full-page ad that will debut tomorrow taking Governor Andrew Cuomo to task over New York’s stance on the controversial natural gas drilling procedure known as “fracking.” However, the ad isn’t appearing in New York. Instead, it’s taking up a page in Iowa’s largest newspaper, the Des Moines Register, making it a seemingly obvious attempt to throw an early roadblock at Mr. Cuomo’s widely-expected presidential campaign in that state’s traditional “first in the nation” primary election.
“Governor Cuomo, America is looking to you,” the ad says. “Don’t allow a single fracked shale gas well in New York. This is your chance to be a national leader on climate. Your choice now will be remembered forever.”
Asked about the ad in a press conference touting the confirmation of his latest judicial nominee, Mr. Cuomo dismissed the possibility of Iowa being a concern to him. Read More
Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney really wants you to associate incumbent Rep. Nan Hayworth with the Tea Party movement, at least if his television advertisements are any indication.
“Congresswoman Nan Hayworth’s gone Tea Party on us, and it’s not pretty: voting to end Medicare to pay for tax breaks for millionaires….like her,” the narrator in Mr. Maloney’s first commercial declared as constituents are shown sipping tea and gagging at the bitter taste. Read More
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GOP Congressman Michael Grimm has faced a barrage of bad headlines since the start of this year, most recently an article in today’s New York Times with the word “mob ties” in the title. These headlines have been further amplified by his Democratic opponent, Mark Murphy, bombarding Mr. Grimm on the airwaves and implying the incumbent is a crook. Well, Mayor Rudy Giuliani–possibly buoyed by the boat the congressman is trying to name after him–has come to the rescue.
“Hi, I’m Rudy Giuliani,” the former mayor says directly to the camera in Mr. Grimm’s latest television ad. “Don’t be fooled by the shameful attacks in the media, Michael Grimm’s character and integrity are second to none. Michael Grimm is a great congressman and an outstanding representative for Staten Island and Brooklyn.” Read More
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President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign has officially gone there.
In an ad released this morning, Mr. Obama takes Republican rival Mitt Romney to task for wanting to take the ax to Sesame Street‘s federal funding in a rather sarcastic fashion.
“Criminals, gluttons of greed,” the narrator stated after ticking off a list of Wall Street crooks. “And the evil genius who towered over them? One man has the guts to speak his name.” Read More
This morning, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce officially set its sights on six congressional races across New York State and launched ads in each of them. Stretching from Long Island to Buffalo, the broadcast barrage attacks Democratic congressional incumbents Tim Bishop, Kathy Hochul, Bill Owens and Louise Slaughter, and attempts to beat back Democratic candidates Sean Patrick Maloney and Dan Maffei.
The size of the ad buy wasn’t immediately available, but the Chamber launched a significant $3.3 million campaign for California Republicans last week, so their New York has the potential to be sizable. Read More
On Friday morning, Mark Murphy, the Democratic challenger to Rep. Michael Grimm, unleashed his first television ad aiming to draw attention to some of the controversies surrounding the incumbent. “Murphy TV Ad Focuses on Grimm’s Character Flaws” the subject line of Mr. Murphy’s press release read, for example. “With characters like these around him, we can’t help but wonder about Michael Grimm’s character,” the ad itself declared after ticking off a list of “questionable characters.”
While Mr. Grimm’s campaign lashed out at Mr. Murphy at the time, it seems they were already readying a positive ad to boost his character as well. To wit, “Michael Grimm: Our Voice in Washington” quietly popped up on Mr. Grimm’s YouTube channel on Friday, and this morning, his spokeswoman confirmed the ad has been airing in Staten Island and Brooklyn since last week. Read More
Congresswoman Kathy Hochul has a tough race as she runs for reelection in New York’s most Republican district, and so it’s unsurprising that she’s out with an ad, entitled “Tough Choices,” touting her breaks with Democratic Party orthodoxy. The independence-themed branding serves as a preemptive move against the inevitable attack linking her to President Barack Obama.
“We all know why Congress doesn’t work,” she begins, talking directly to the camera. “Tough choices need to be made and Washington doesn’t make tough choices. I’m Kathy Hochul and that’s why I voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment, it forces Congress to make tough choices.” Read More
