Tim Wu, the Columbia Law School professor and author who coined the phrase "network neutrality," is running for lieutenant governor in New York.

If he wins, Wu will try to block Comcast's attempted purchase of Time Warner Cable. While the merger is being reviewed by federal regulators, it is also being reviewed at the state level. In New York, the Public Service Commission is scrutinizing the deal.

"The main issue [related to technology] I'm focusing on right now is Comcast and the really big mergers," Wu told Ars today. While the lieutenant governor doesn't make merger decisions, "I see the lieutenant governor position as one that puts pressure on other agencies and advocates for the public's interest. I would push the agencies to block the Comcast merger," he said.

Wu explained to The Washington Post that "The state can block a merger. They can't block two companies merging in Texas, but Comcast wants to buy Time Warner Cable, which happens to have substantial business operations in New York. It is a New York State merger."

Wu told Ars he opposes the merger because "I think they'll increase prices. I think cable prices are too high, and I think they'll increase prices both for broadband and cable."

Comcast Executive VP David Cohen said in February after the merger announcement that "we're certainly not promising that customer bills are going to go down or even increase less rapidly." Cohen later clarified that while "there is nothing in this transaction that will cause cable bills to go up," other factors, like the cost of sports programming, could increase prices.

Wu is also concerned about the AT&T/DirecTV merger and the potential Sprint/T-Mobile merger, but said he's still deciding whether he would oppose those as well.

Wu is author of "The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires" and coined the term "network neutrality" in a 2003 paper. He is running against former Congresswoman Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary scheduled for September 9.

Wu is the running mate of Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout, who is running against incumbent Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic Party nomination for state governor. However, it's possible Wu could win the lieutenant governor primary and end up as Cuomo's running mate in the general election on November 4.

While Wu has long focused on technology policy, he isn't a one-issue candidate.

"I care about my usual tech and telecom and antitrust issues, but I care about them as a manifestation of something larger," he told Ars. "My greater concern has always been with excessive private power and threats to human freedom created by excessive private power."

Wu is also testifying about net neutrality in Congress on Friday. While the Federal Communications Commission enacted net neutrality regulations in 2010, those were largely struck down in court this year, leading the FCC to propose a weaker version

Wu previously was a tech adviser to President Obama's 2008 campaign, but this is his first run for office.

"One of the things we're trying to do with this campaign is bring back classic progressive-party issues to the forefront and government corruption, Theodore Roosevelt, Brandeis type of issues," he told The Washington Post.

He also believes state government should take a greater role regulating phone companies such as Verizon.

"In New York, Verizon keeps doing things to annoy people," Wu told the Post. "In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Verizon refused to reinstall everyone's phone lines. [The company eventually relented after pressure from regulators.] And okay, maybe we should all be on wireless, but they refused to do things. And they don't seem afraid of state government anymore. People are like, 'They can't even shame them into doing anything anymore.' They're just like, 'No, we're not going to do it.' So there are two very powerful entrenched players here [telecom and cable]. People are upset about incomplete FiOS deployment. So I think there are a lot of ways people in New York state are upset, and it's a microcosm for how people are feeling about the telecom and cable incumbents across the country."