Is Quinn Using Taxpayer Money During A Recession To Promote Her Mayoral Campaign ?

Christine Quinn Continues the Practise By City Council Speakers Of Using City Resources -- And Your Taxpayer Dollars -- To Promote Their Political Ambitions.

During the Great Recession, at a time when there is a $600 million hole in the city budget thanks to the failed taxi medallion scam, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is using taxpayer-funded Public Service Announcements to promote her mayoral campaign, so says Michael Schenkler in his Not For Publication column in The Queens Tribune.

Mr. Schenkler was watching “Food, Faith & Culture,” a program on CBS Channel 2 last Sunday, and, in his newspaper column, Mr. Schenkler described Speaker Quinn's PSA :

“Hello, this is Council Speaker Christine Quinn” or something like that said the recognizable voice of the council boss and Mayoral wanabe. It was a 30-second, multi-cultural lovefest with terrible production values – as bad as you ever see on network television. But the message of “Love Love” and “Hate Hate” is of course a seller in our great city. At the end of the painfully bad commercial with a solidly good message, was the City’s logo (NYC) taking ownership for the spot.

Mr. Schenkler then criticised Speaker Quinn for using taxpayer money to promote herself in the lead up to next year's Democratic primary fight in the 2013 mayoral election :

"She is not to be lavished with promotional funds to spread her name around our city. She should not be the beneficiary of taxpayer funds or City-owned property to elevate her image as she prepares to run for Mayor. Not on our backs, Chris."

What do you think about Speaker Quinn using not only your taxpayer money for her slush funds, but now for this stealth self-promotional political marketing campaign ?