New York City Mayoral candidate Christine Quinn is trying to get Cablevision and Time Warner Cable to stop airing an ad that attacks Quinn's "political ambition" and ties to the one percent, saying that there is "incorrect information" in the ad.
The ad, which began airing on Monday, was paid for by a group of left-leaning labor groups and other Democratic activists, which call themselves NYC Is Not for Sale 2013. The ad shows Quinn's picture amid a cloud of smoke, and says that “Virtually all of Christine Quinn’s decisions were made in rooms just like this, with her friends in the 1%.”
NY1 reports:
The ad also faults her for changing term limits, saying "She is always on the wrong side. On living wage."
Quinn's lawyer says she passed the measure, so she can't be on the wrong side. However, she delayed the vote and passed a watered-down version.
"Although opponents of a candidate often resort to fanciful broadsides (as with the cigar smoke permeating this ad), facts must not be fabricated or distorted. In addition to the funders of the ad, broadcasters have a responsibility to ensure accuracy and fairness," Quinn's attorney wrote, in the letter to Time Warner. He added: "Your station need not air the subject ad. If you choose to do so, however your station bears responsibility for its content."
"You're not allowed to just put up false ads that have incorrect information about candidates," Quinn told NY1. "That's simply not what you're allowed to do in an election context, and we're making that clear to the news media out there. It's also just wrong for there to be anonymous ads out there. They have no place in our system."
In a letter obtained by Celeste Katz of the New York Daily News, Time Warner replied to Quinn's attorney that the ad is under review and they have asked the group "to provide, without delay, substantiation supporting the claims contained in the spot as they have the right and opportunity to defend your client’s challenge and request to take their spot off the air. The NYC is Not for Sale spot will continue to air as ordered unless we arrive at a decision to act otherwise."
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