De Blasio, Lhota Split on Ad Strategy

Mayoral candidates Joe Lhota and Bill de Blasio continue drawing distinctions between each other — this time in their ad strategies.

If you ask Republican Joe Lhota about what the future would look like under de Blasio, brace yourself for an ugly 80's flashback.

“You know it was fear-mongering,” deBlasio said Thursday after a rally for the New York State Nurses Association. He also took a shot at Lhota's campaign for not raising these public safety concerns during Tuesday night's debate.

When WNYC asked about that criticism, Lhota didn't hold back.

“Who the hell does he think he is to question my strategy?” charged Lhota, who continues to defend his ad as an accurate depiction of New York two decades ago.

Meanwhile, the de Blasio campaign launched its own far more upbeat ad, this time starring his daughter Chiara de Blasio in her ubiquitous silk rose headband.

Over plucky background music, looking straight into the camera (just like Dante did in his primary season ads), Chiara reminds voters of the key planks in her dad’s platform. But she also notes that his frontrunner status comes with some blow-back.