Metro

De Blasio jabs Lhota with ‘Tea Party’ attack

Despite holding a hefty lead in the polls, Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio went on a forceful attack Tuesday by depicting Republican rival Joe Lhota as a Tea Party sympathizer.

The oddly timed haymaker came just hours before de Blasio’s campaign warned supporters that it was Lhota — a fiscally conservative but socially libertarian Republican — who would soon start throwing everything and “the kitchen sink” de Blasio’s way.

The candidates for weeks have been painting each other as far-afield radicals in the run-up to the Nov. 5 election.

“Joe Lhota hasn’t been shy about his affinity toward Tea Party positions,” began a 50-second Web ad released by de Blasio’s campaign.

The spot went on to hit Lhota for telling a Staten Island Tea Party group that he shares much of its philosophy and for complaining about the bureaucratic burdens of securing a gun permit in New York City.

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 6 to 1 in the city.

The ad also compared Lhota’s support for delaying the implementation of ObamaCare to that of conservative critics of the ­Affordable Care Act.

But Lhota has been critical of several Tea Party positions and has blasted fellow GOPers for their role in the federal-government shutdown.

He has also been hitting de Blasio for the Democrat’s support of the far-left Sandinista government in Nicaragua in the late 1980s, and for honeymooning in Communist Cuba in the early ’90s.

Lhota spokeswoman Jessica Proud said the potshots — coming shortly before the first general-election debate to be attended by de Blasio — were a classic ­distraction technique.

“They’re clearly desperate to change the conversation off of Bill’s attacks on the NYPD and his opposition to charter schools, but this is a tired playbook,” said Proud.

“Let’s hope Bill brings something a little more creative to [last night’s] debate.”

De Blasio has supported a string of legislation and lawsuits aimed at reining in the NYPD’s widespread use of the stop-and-frisk tactic.

A federal judge recently ruled that the practice was being used in a racially biased manner.

Lhota has argued that the newly imposed restrictions — including at least two new positions overseeing the police force — would result in less proactive policing and a jump in crime rates.

De Blasio has also called for charging rent to charter schools that under Mayor Bloomberg have been getting free space in public buildings.

Charter backers who feel the measure could spell doom for the publicly funded, privately-run schools rallied Tuesday outside the debate studio at WABC/Channel 7 in ­Lincoln Center.

“I have to continuously fight ­every year at public hearings to justify why my school should even exist — a school that’s doing so well in our community — and it’s ridiculous,” said Joe Herrera, a parent at the rally who has two kids attending Coney Island Prep Charter School in Brooklyn.

“At the very least, the school should be receiving equitable resources that include free public-school space,” he added.

“There’s thousands of families that are on wait list who are trying to get the best education for their children, plus thousands of parents who have done everything they can to avoid failing schools.”