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NYSCOPBA: ‘We’ve Given More Than Others’
Jan 9th - 12:21 pm
The state Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, which represents some 21,000 corrections officers and security guards, launched a “major” statewide radio ad campaign today to remind New Yorkers of the difficult and dangerous jobs performed by their members, day in and day out, even as resources are scarce and violence is on the rise.
The 60-second ad, called “Toughest”, says union members are the “first line of defense in the toughest job you can imagine” and “wouldn’t have it any other way.” It continues: “We’ve already given more than most, but will always give our all everyday.” The spot will run in 11 media markets – including NYC, where air time is the most expensive (although radio spots are considerably cheaper than TV). They will remain on the air for at least the next two weeks.
This is just phase one in what is to be a multi-tiered public awareness campaign, which comes at a time when the Cuomo administration is “right-sizing” the state’s prison system, closing seven facilities around New York.
“Our members work in some of the hardest and most difficult environments in the world, but we never ask for special treatment,” said NYSCOPBA president Donn Rowe.
“What we want is for the public to recognize that this is a tough job, and we do it without complaint. At the end of the day, our concern is only for safety; the safety of our members, and the safety of all New Yorkers.”
Weprin Ad: ‘Don’t Get Burned By Bob Turner’
Sep 7th - 3:35 pm
With just under one week remaining in the race for former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s seat in NY-9, Assemblyman David Weprin unveiled a new campaign ad that touts his endorsement by the New York Times and slams his GOP opponent, Bob Turner, and his “Tea Party budget ideas.”
The spot will start running this week as part of what the Weprin campaign called “a major media buy” in Brooklyn and Queens and continue through the Sept. 13 election. It’s kind of a quirky approach, relying on animation and no face time by the candidate.
That might have something to do with the fact that Weprin is admittedly not the most charismatic guy in politics – a fact he tried to turn to his advantage during his failed 2009 NYC comptroller bid.
“The more voters learn about David Weprin and Bob Turner, the more they reject Turner’s radical views,” said Weprin campaign spokeswoman Liz Kerr.
“We’re bringing our message directly to voters in Brooklyn and Queens, and letting them know about Bob Turner’s plans to cut Medicare and Social Security. Combined with the hundreds of volunteers we’ve had contacting more than 100,000 voters, it’s clear that David Weprin is positioned to win next Tuesday.”
Worried Democrats are pulling out all the stops to assist Weprin, despite the fact that NY-9 might not continue to exist much longer. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reportedly ready to appear in TV and radio ads to help Weprin, although we haven’t seen any of those yet – they’ll probably come as a last-minute push just before the election.
Unlike his fellow Democratic executive, President Obama, Cuomo has a high popularity rating in NY-9. Ditto for Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has also endorsed Weprin for his old House seat (reconfigured since he held it, thanks to redistricting), and also for former NYC Mayor Ed Koch, who is backing Turner.
Pataki Launches Anti-Obama Ads In NH
May 24th - 1:33 pm
Former Gov. George Pataki, who has said he isn’t planning to mount another White House bid in 2012, nevertheless is sounding an awful lot like a potential candidate.
The New York Republican is using his newly created PAC, No American Debt, to launch an ad campaign in New Hampshire – home to the first presidential primary – and assailed President Obama during a speech in the Granite State, saying he “has the worst fiscal record of any President in the history of our country.”
Speaking to participants in an ECON 101 Town Hall Meeting sponsored by New England College in Henniker, NH, Pataki expressed disappointment that Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels decided not to run next year and criticized the current GOP field, saying:
“Any Republican serious about being president needs to have a strong plan to deal with the debt. I thought Governor Daniels would’ve really added to the conversation.
“…“It’s not just the President. Whether it’s Newt, Mitt, or someone else every Republican who wants to be President has to have a serious plan to solve the debt.”
Remember: Pataki has kept his finger in the political game since he declined to seek a fourth term in 2006, opting instead to explore a never-realized presidential bid. He ran ads in key states in the 2010 cycle – including NH and others that play a significant early role in picking White House candidates – that called for repeal of so-called “Obamacare”.
The former governor used a different PAC, Revere America, to run his campaign against health care reform. He left Revere America back in February.
Here’s the text of the ad, which will run in NH through June 13 – the date of the GOP presidential debate.
(Pataki voiceover): Both parties got us here. Reckless spending. Record debt. When Barack Obama’s bipartisan Commission chartered a path, he ignored it. When Republicans offered a plan, he attacked it. His proposal? Raise taxes. And cut spending – somewhere, someday. That’s no plan. We must do better. Join us. You know we can do the right thing. Every generation of Americans has.”
A $1.3 B Bake Sale?
May 23rd - 2:07 pm
Here’s a 60-second radio ad launched by NYSUT that opposes Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed property tax cap, calling it a “gimmick that takes control away from the local communities and provides no real relief.”
The $213,000 ad campaign, which will run through the end of May, takes a bit of a satirical approach, staging a school “bake sale” at which participants are trying to sell 1.3 billion cupcakes (presumably at $1 a piece) “because that’s how many dollars Albany’s cut from education this year alone.”
This comes as negotiations over the tax cap are heating up at the Capitol, with the Senate Republicans easing up on their previous refusal to entertain any softening of the 2 percent hard cap Cuomo started pushing during the 2010 campaign.
The ad doesn’t name any names, but does say that “some in Albany and their Wall Street friends support.” That reads to me like a jab at Cuomo and the business-backed Committee to Save NY, which has launched TV ads of its own to support Cuomo’s plan.
The ad proclaims support for the millionaire’s tax re-launched last week by the Assembly Democrats, even though both Cuomo and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos have more or less declared that idea DOA.
“Lawmakers should listen to their constituents and not to their rich friends,” said NYSUT Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta in a press release.
“Last week, voters spoke loudly and clearly when they approved nearly 94 percent of the local school budgets across New York. Clearly, local control – which would be lost under tax caps – is working. New Yorkers want real tax relief, not political gimmicks.”
Just for the record, others – including Cuomo – are spinning the 93.5 percent school budget passage rate a bit differently. Here’s what the governor said:
“We’ve reigned in state spending, we now have to reign in local government and school district spending. And I think the message is communicating it, and I think you saw that in a lot of these school district budgets.”
Davis Ad Dramatizes Overseas Trade
May 18th - 9:33 am
Independent Jack Davis is out with a new TV spot that focuses on one of his signature issues: Trade.
The spot features a “family” in the kitchen. Dad comes home to announce he no longer has a job because the company is moving to China. Mom, looking haggard, says: “How can we pay for my chemotherapy without health insurance.” Dad looks down, grim-faced as worried young daughter asks: “Will Mom be OK?”
Listen hard, and you can even hear the family dog barking in the background.
Cue male announcer, who says: “Both parties support trade deals that ship our jobs overseas. Jack Davis will fight to keep jobs in America.” Followed by the required candidate stamp-of-approval.
The press release announcing this ad, titled “What’s at Stake”, calls trade “the real issue both parties are ignoring.” I get it. But this spot seems a bit overwrought. It’s unclear if the family members are real or being portrayed by actors.
Davis is being attacked by both the Democrats and the Republicans now and portrayed as a potential spoiler in what was supposed to be a walk for Assemblywoman Jane Corwin. He hasn’t spoken to the media – at least not to my knowledge – since last week’s assaultgate.
He was supposed to show up at a meet-the-candidates event in Batavia yesterday (both Kathy Hochul and Corwin attended), but was called away due to an “emergency” at his factory, according to his campaign.
Air Hochul: ‘Look For Yourself’ On Medicare
May 17th - 3:09 pm
Democratic NY-26 candidate Kathy Hochul is responding to the GOP’s attempt to construe her as supportive of cuts to Social Security and Medicare with a new ad that highlights her endorsement this weekend by the Buffalo News.
“In a desperate attempt to distract voters, Jane Corwin has created a false attack on Kathy Hochul that the Buffalo News has called an ‘attempt to deflect attention from her support’ of the Republican budget that would decimate Medicare, while giving massive tax breaks to multi-millionaires and billionaires,” said Hochul spokesman Fabien Levy.
Assemblywoman Jane Corwin and her Republican allies have been trying to muddy the Medicare waters by highlighting her comment in last week’s debate that “everything should be on the table” in budget talks – “entitlements, defense spending, but also revenues.”
Hochul is getting backup on this one from Factcheck.org, which called Corwin’s allegations against Hochul in a recent ad “bogus.”
NRCC Launches ‘Strings Attached’ In NY-26
May 16th - 7:05 am
With nine days remaining in the NY-26 fight, the NRCC has hit the airwaves with its first TV ad to assist Assemblywoman Jane Corwin – a spot that depicts both Kathy Hochul and Jack Davis as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s puppets.
The buy is about $400,000, and the ad will aid on cable and broadcast stations in both Buffalo and Rochester through the rest of the campaign, which will end when voters head to the polls on May 24.
The ad was made by Scott Howell & Co., which is home to Dan Allen, a Washington, D.C.-based consultant who has roots in New York. He worked for the state GOP as communications director of communications back in the Bill Powers days.
Until now, the NRCC has been largely content with letting Corwin self fund. She has now loaned her campaign close to $2 million.
Davis, a Democrat-turned-Republican who is running as an independent, has pledged to spend up to $3 million of his own cash on his fourth attempt to win a congressional seat, while Hochul, the Democratic Erie County clerk, has led both her opponents in fundraising.
Here’s the ad script:
“Meet Jack Davis. He claims he had a hand in creating Nancy Pelosi’s Democrat majority. And meet Kathy Hochul, who said about Pelosi: ‘She’s done a great job for this country.’ Great job? Pelosi pushed through the failed stimulus that created green jobs in China, while unemployment soared in Western New York. Jack and Kathy can’t fight for us. They come with strings attached.”
DCCC Hits The Airwaves In NY-26 (Updated)
May 12th - 3:44 pm
The DCCC is finally getting involved on behalf of NY-26 Democratic candidate Kathy Hochul, releasing an ad that slams both independent candidate Jack Davis and GOP Assemblywoman Jane Corwin on Medicare.
The Buffalo News reported earlier this week that the national committee had purchased $250,000 worth of air time in WNY.
This is the first overt sign that the D.C. Democrats are, in fact, taking an active interest in this race – despite the fact that there is widespread speculation that the district might no longer exist after the next round of redistricting. Sources have informed me, however, that the DCCC has been helpful in behind-the-scenes ways (field, volunteers etc).
The NRCC has so far been content to let Corwin self-fund her ad campaign, although the Karl Rove-affiliated American Crossroads is committing up to $650,000 for an air war prior to the May 24 special election.
At this point, a number of observers have suggested that the NY-26 race will turn on the subject of Medicare, specifically the proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan to overhaul the publicly-funded health care program for seniors.
But numbers whiz Nate Silver has cautioned against reading too far into whatever the results of this extremely close contest turn out to be, noting upstate NY congressional races have proven to be rather quirky in the past.
UPDATE: The NRCC weighed in with a response, which appears after the jump.
GOP Worried In NY-26 (Updated)
May 5th - 3:22 pm
Erie County GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy, the chief surrogate for NY-26 candidate Jane Corwin, sent out an email plea this weekend for volunteers to go door-to-door on her behalf this weekend.
The message includes a link to the ad attacking independent candidate Jack Davis, whose stronger-than-expected showing in the recent Siena poll has Republicans concerned that he might end up splitting the Republican and Conservative vote with Corwin and provide a path to victory for Democrat Kathy Hochul.
“While Democrat Jack Davis is trying to fool Western New York voters, Republican Jane Corwin is highlighting her record of creating hundreds of Western New York jobs,” Langworthy said, echoing the script of the ad.
“Jane will fight in Washington to create a better environment for private sector job growth by cutting spending, reducing taxes and removing barriers that make it harder for small businesses to create jobs. With the election quickly approaching Jane needs our help to Get Out The Vote.”
The chairman asked for volunteers to door knock for Corwin Saturday in her hometown and base, Clarence, starting bright and early at 9:30 a.m. (Clarence was also home to former Rep. Chris Lee, who Davis, Corwin and Hochul are all running to replace).
UPDATE: In an email with the subject line “wrong”, Langworthy takes issue with my characterization of the GOP as “worried,” saying this was nothing more than a standard GOTV pitch.
“I used my blast email service to promote the kickoff of our scheduled GOTV efforts,” Langworthy wrote.
“I’ve done it many times before and will be doing it again to get the word out to my organization. That’s my job as county GOP chair. It’s a special election, GOTV is critical and we will be doing an unprecedented amount of it.”
Corwin Ad Attacks Davis
May 5th - 8:59 am
In the wake of last week’s Siena poll that showed the NY-26 race closer than expected with independent candidate Jack Davis netting 23 percent of the vote, Republican frontrunner Jane Corwin has unleashed a radio attack ad against the Buffalo businessman.
POLITICO reported earlier this week that Republicans are growing increasingly nervous that Davis could split the GOP vote with Corwin and provide a path to victory for Democratic Eric County Clerk Kathy Hochul in spite of the district’s Republican enrollment edge.
We’ve seen that happen time and again – most notably in NY-23, where the Conservative/Tea Party candidate Doug Hoffman pushed the more moderate GOP candidate, then-Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, out of the race, but too late for her name to be removed from the ballot.
Scozzafava, who then endorsed her erstwhile Democratic opponent, Bill Owens, gained sufficient votes to deprive Hoffman of a special election victory, and Owens is still sitting in that previously GOP-held seat today.
I believe this is the first time Corwin’s own campaign has slammed Davis. She previously had been focusing her attention on Hochul. The script of the ad, which appears below, echoes the message of a mailer sent out by the state GOP, basically accusing Davis of being a Democrat in GOP clothing.
Davis actually has been criticizing both major parties, accusing both the Democrats and Republicans of being owned by Wall Street while he “cannot be bought.”
(Female announcer, speaking over ominous background music): “Perennial candidate Jack Davis has a past he wants you to forget. After running three times as a Democrat, he now wants us to believe he’s standing up for us. But Jack Davis was the handpicked candidate of Nancy Pelosi and said he was actually proud to help her become speaker.”
“Davis took thousands of dollars from Barack Obama and ultimately endorsed Obama’s campaign for president. And Davis took thousands of dollars from disgraced Congressman Charlie Rangel.”
“And what has Jack Davis’ support for Obama, Pelosi and Rangel given us? Trillions of dollars in new debt, government-run health care, over half a trillion dollars in new taxes and two-and-a-half million lost jobs. So the next time Democrat Jack Davis says he’ll stand up for you, you’ll know that Jack Davis just can’t be trusted.”
(Music becomes upbeat, Corwin speaks): “I’m Jane Corwin, and I approve this message.” (Announcer): “Paid for by Jane Corwin for Congress.”
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