FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Democratic Congressman Jim Costa is asking his opponent, Republican businessman Michael Maher, to stop playing one of his campaign ads.  Costa's team sent a cease-and-desist letter to Maher's campaign, claiming the ad was false and misleading.  This letter, dated Oct. 11, was sent to Maher on behalf of Costa and says his recent ad titled "10 Presidents" is both false and misleading and they need to stop playing it immediately.  In response, Maher defended his ad during a press conference in Downtown Fresno on Monday.  "I have 30 seconds to be able to get the message out, which is what- he's a lifetime politician," Maher said.  The ad starts with a narrator reading the words "Ten presidents have come and gone since Jim Costa first went to Washington 50 years ago."  Costa said this is false and when this term is up, he would have served in the House of Representatives for 20 years. He was first elected to Congress in 2004 and started his first term in 2005 when George W. Bush was president.  "It's an effort to mislead people, to try to create an impression that I've been there too long. There is a lot of Republicans that have been there longer than 20 years. So I don't think that's a very good reason," Costa said.  But Maher's campaign said their ad is accurate, citing an article where Costa said he was a Hill intern in 1973.  "And the backup for that is he went to Washington in 1973. He has a great article talking about exactly that time, the summer of '73, working in Washington, D.C., attending Watergate hearings. So when he went to Washington in 1973, there's been 10 presidents since then," Maher said. However, after his internship ended, Costa moved back to California and eventually served in both the California State Assembly and the State Senate.  Costa's team also wrote in their letter that the ad is misleading when the on-screen text states- “after decades in Congress, Costa authored two bills," accompanied by a narrator who said "two bills signed into law, one to rename a post office- the other about a stamp."  "They're called give me bills, bills when a member can't get something passed. One of those bills was a post office getting renamed in Fowler and the second bill was about a stamp," Maher said, defending his ad.  The House website Maher cites does list the two bills Costa has sponsored as the only ones signed into law. However, Costa said, it's not fair to claim he's only sponsored those two bills. Costa said on top of the money he's helped bring to the district for projects, he's sponsored many other pieces of legislation, that oftentimes, make it into law but just not in its original form.  "Usually it becomes attached to part of a larger piece of legislation. And the Bipartisan Infrastructure Transportation Act is an example, the farm bill that we authorize every five years. And they know that they want to mislead people," he said.  As of Monday, Oct. 14, the ad is still posted online on his campaign website. Costa's letter says they will pursue legal action if the ad stays up.