A new marketing campaign takes aim at Gov. David Paterson for supporting a plan that would cap how much suburban schools can increase taxes by each year.
The bill would prohibit taxes from increasing by more than 4 percent each year. The state Senate has given its approval, but the Assembly, led by Sheldon Silver, has yet to act and Silver’s said he’s against the cap because it could hurt school districts.
Labor unions have also lashed out against Paterson, because cuts would hurt teacher salaries and benefits. The ad concludes with a narrator reading “Tell David Paterson hurting schools is the wrong answer.”
The campaign is financed by two groups that had been allies of the governor: the Working Families Party, a labor-backed group that has played an influential role in many legislative races, and the Alliance for Quality Education, which lobbies for increases to public school aid and has ties to both the United Federation of Teachers and Citizen Action, which is funded by both labor unions and the New York trial lawyers’ association.
The 30-second spot was produced by the consulting firm Knickerbocker SKD, whose principals have ties to Senator Schumer and Attorney General Cuomo. It began airing in New York City and other large markets around the state yesterday, marking the first time Mr. Paterson has been the target of a television attack ad since he took office in March.
