A new television ad cycles through images of kids doing kid things \u2014 finger painting and messily eating spaghetti \u2014 before a young girl delivers a final request: \u201cPlease vote for Governor Hochul.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ad touts a series of Hochul\u2019s family-forward policies<\/a> as she seeks to win re-election in November against Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican. But state disclosure records show it\u2019s funded by Uber, a company whose interests have little to do with free school lunches and child tax care credits.<\/p>\n The ride-hailing giant has become one of the Democratic governor\u2019s most prominent and highest-spending supporters.<\/p>\n Uber is the sole funder of Fair and Affordable New York, the super PAC that dropped $1 million on the new ad late last week, according to state Board of Elections records. The company put $3 million into the PAC late last month, according to the records.<\/p>\n All told, Uber has dropped more than $13 million on mailers and advertisements backing the governor and her policies since January.<\/p>\n The governor has been good to Uber this year. At her State of the State address, Hochul proposed a slate of Uber-supported auto-insurance reforms<\/a>, which the company lobbied for and that would save it millions of dollars in insurance premiums and legal payouts. Among them were new restrictions on payments in cases where the person was determined to be mostly responsible for a wreck, a change that Hochul argued would help drive down insurance rates \u2014 including for Uber.<\/p>\n Hochul successfully pushed through the reforms as part of the state budget, despite criticism from the state\u2019s trial lawyers who said they would curtail victims\u2019 rights. Uber spent millions touting the policies and Hochul\u2019s win with a series of advertisements and mailers sent directly to homes, funneling the money through an entity known as Citizens for Affordable Rates.<\/p>\n