Brown Airing Attack Spots
The Democrat's ads paint GOP attorney general rival Poochigian as an extremist.
By Eric Bailey, Times Staff Writer
September 15, 2006
In an early move, Democrat Jerry Brown launched a television advertising campaign Thursday in the race for California attorney general, using a trio of commercials to attack Republican foe Chuck Poochigian as too extreme for the state.
The ads, part of a weeklong $300,000 buy on cable TV systems throughout the state, according to Brown's campaign, comes as the California GOP airs a feisty radio ad that ridicules Brown as "flaky" and too liberal to serve as the state's top law officer.
Brown, mayor of Oakland and a former California governor, hits Poochigian, a state senator from Fresno, in his 30-second spots for Poochigian's opposition to a ban on 50-caliber sniper rifles, abortion rights, stem cell research and tougher environmental rules. A fourth commercial extols Brown's support from California police chiefs and other law enforcement groups.
With early polls showing Brown enjoying a big lead over Poochigian, the start of a fight on the airwaves nearly two months before election day may signal a quick escalation of the "down-ballot" race, which has attracted national attention because of the presence of the former governor.
Poochigian, who has about $3.6 million on hand compared to Brown's $5.2 million, has yet to begin advertising.
Ace Smith, Brown's campaign strategist, called the mayor's commercials "warning labels for voters" about the threat posed by a conservative like Poochigian.
"These tell voters they're going to get severe side effects if they swallow his kind of extremism," Smith said. "We feel we have an obligation to open their eyes to a candidate trying to pass himself off as a moderate when he's in fact an extremist."
The Democrat's ads paint GOP attorney general rival Poochigian as an extremist.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-ads15sep15,1,3364430.story?coll=la-news-politics-california
