MTA Pulls What Amounted To Taxpayer-Funded Cuomo Campaign Ad

Colby Hamilton at DNAinfo:

CIVIC CENTER —  The MTA will pull a subway advertisement that thanked Gov. Andrew Cuomo for helping to secure $4 billion in federal funding for Hurricane Sandy-related transit repairs, an MTA spokesman said on Wednesday, after DNAinfo New York contacted the agency earlier in the week.

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The ad, which began appearing inside subway cars last month, begin with the line, "We're not just rebuilding, we're improving." They go on to highlight the agency’s “Fix & Fortify” program, which the ads claim “is restoring New York’s transportation system to pre-Sandy condition and will make it less vulnerable to future storms.”

The ad then go on to thank “Governor Cuomo, the FTA and FEMA” for “$4 billion in federal funding” being used to pay for the work.

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The MTA spokesman said although the timing coincided with the start of Cuomo's re-election efforts, the ad had nothing to do with “election year politics."

Sure it didn't.

Hamilton asked the Cuomo administration if they had anything to do with the ad and got this:

Cuomo’s office declined to comment, referring questions to the MTA.

If Cuomo's office had nothing to do with the ad, why won;t they go on record saying that?