Knicks, Rangers owner solicits donations from staff for NYC mayoral candidate: Report

New York City mayoral candidate Joe Lhota may be an underdog in the polls (some pollsters are already making the Rocky comparisons), but it's not for a lack of financial support from his former employer at Madison Square Garden.

Sources told the N.Y. Post that MSG/Cablevision head honcho Jim Dolan sent e-mails to his top staffers, asking them to donate $2,500 each to support their former colleague Lhota’s campaign. The Republican candidate was once an executive vice president of Cablevision for five years and, in 2010, he was appointed chief administrative officer at Madison Square Garden.

Though Dolan — no stranger to long-shots himself — sent the e-mail to employees back in March, some were still chuckling about the political solicitation, particularly as Lhota trails about 40 points behind Democratic opponent Bill de Blasio in the polls.

Another source minimized Dolan’s request, telling the Post: “I assume some people did donate, but it was a small thing.”

But remember, Dolan is the same owner who fired an MSG security guard who refused Dolan entry to a VIP suite last year when she didn't recognize her boss. So there has to be some trepidation within the ranks.

However, reports say employees of Cablevision, including those solicited by Dolan, have raised a healthy $94,000 for Lhota’s campaign.

Dumping money into a losing cause sounds about right for ol' Jimmy. 

A rep for MSG declined to comment.