Quinn Calls for Restrictions for Council Members' Ads

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is proposing to restrict council members from taking out advertisements in newspapers and journals unless they are informational or educational.

Over the last five and a half years, council members spent nearly $1 million in taxpayer dollars on advertisements, with $343,000 spent during the election years of 2003 and 2005, a report by Citizens Union found. Council members spent an average of $3,685 on advertising each year, with Council Member Michael Nelson of Brooklyn, the highest ad spender on the council, doling out an average of $20,525 each year on ads, according to the report.

The City Charter prohibits members from purchasing paid advertisements with their council budgets during election years, with several exceptions, including health and safety-related announcements.