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Williams hits Onorato with first negative ad
In the gubernatorial ad wars, Anthony Williams has gone negative first.
After a few weeks of airing spots that featured his biography and his positions on issues like jobs, education and crime, the Democratic state Senator’s campaign has decided to challenge primary front-runner Dan Onorato on the claims made in his campaign ads.
Though multiple sources expected the ad to begin airing Monday, it did not appear during the morning news cycle, and details of how widely it would air remained unclear. But a script of the ad obtained by pa2010.com shows that it will directly challenge Onorato on his claims of economic revitalization in Allegheny County, one of the main foundations of his campaign.
“Dan Onorato says he’s kept unemployment low,” a narrator in the ad says. “But unemployment in his county has risen a whopping 30 percent in just the last year—faster than the state and the nation.”
In a way, both campaigns are right. Onorato’s campaign claims that the county’s unemployment rate has been lower than the nation and the state, and indeed, it has typically outperformed both by about 1-2 percent, according to data from the state Department of Labor and Industry. Williams’ campaign is also right in citing data from the same agency that the rate of the unemployment rise is also greater than the state and national average, partly because unemployment was lower to begin with.
Nevertheless, Williams’ decision to take the first direct salvo at Onorato, after spending at least $2.5 million on his first round of ads, reflects the campaign’s belief that it’s time to start drawing some serious contrast. In a story last weekend, Capitolwire quoted a number of Democratic sources in saying Williams’ first slew of advertising hasn’t moved his numbers much—at least when compared to the boost Onorato has seen. Williams told the subscription news service that his polling shows him “not a close second [to Onorato], but second, with growth and momentum.”
“For the last couple of years, and especially recently, Dan Onorato has been telling voters that he wants to do for Pennsylvania what he’s done for Allegheny County,” Williams campaign spokesman Mark Nevins said. “If that’s the case, then voters deserve to know the full story about what he’s done for Allegheny County, not just the cherry-picked highlights.”
The new ad also hits Onorato for the infamous drink tax he enacted in Allegheny County.
“Onorato says he’s the change we need,” the narrator says. “Is Onorato the change you need?”
See the ad below.
May 3, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Tags: Anthony Williams, Dan Onorato
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flynnbw
May 3rd, 2010
It will be interesting to see whether Mr. Onorato will respond to this attack by launching a broadside of his own.
KD
May 3rd, 2010
With no movement in the polls, it seems Williams is getting desperate.
Woman Voter
May 3rd, 2010
Deserving of a pa2010.com post:
The Inquirer’s endorsement for governor.
Quoting the Inquirer:
“The November election will in many respects be a referendum on the incumbent. So, they(Pennsylvania Democrats) must select someone who may share Democratic Gov. Rendell’s best attributes, but won’t remind voters of his shortcomings. That candidate exists. He comes from the Pittsburgh area. But he’s not the man with the most cash in the primary race. That would be Dan Onorato, who as Allegheny County executive has an urban government background that matches former Philadelphia Mayor Edward G. Rendell’s. But that’s not all they share. Many of now-Gov. Rendell’s deep-pocketed campaign contributors are on the Onorato bandwagon, suggesting that they may think he would be a sequel to Rendell.
“But this is not a time when voters want what they’ve already had. Coming out of the recession, with state budgets across America desperate for resuscitation, they want elected leaders who make hard decisions about spending and taxes that they can confidently expect to be devoid of any calculation other than the best bottom line. The Democrats’ best choice to provide that type of fiscal leadership is someone who is already taking a focused, unbiased look at how Pennsylvania can do a better job managing its budget. The Inquirer endorses state Auditor General JACK WAGNER to be the Democratic nominee for governor.”
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq_ed_board/92528574.html
IT’S ON: Williams to go negative on Onorato… | GrassrootsPA
May 3rd, 2010
[...] IT’S ON: Williams to go negative on Onorato… [...]
Woman Voter
May 3rd, 2010
The It’s On comment simply links back here, but what’s missing is the Inquirer’s endorsement for governor.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq_ed_board/92528574.html
Kevin
May 3rd, 2010
Wagners endorsement was already mentioned on 2010. If Wagner wasn’t looking up for the bottom of the heap, it might matter.
steelersfan
May 3rd, 2010
I don’t know who in Pennsylvania besides Rendell’s cronies with their no bid contracts would benefit from a third term via Onorato. Beer Tax Dan is a taxer of the working people but he takes care of the Fox Chapel crowd. If Williams was smart, he would go after him on property taxes. Onorato blocked reassessment which helped the wealthy neighborhoods where property values went up but killed the working neighborhoods where values plummeted by 30% — Aliquippa, anyone? The working families were paying the same taxes when they should have been paying 30% less.
GOPHAWK
May 3rd, 2010
The press has been a lapdog for Rendell and a lapdog for his pony Dan Onorato. I mean, they have been letting him go on and on about his great record on jobs in Allegheny County when there has been no new jobs in the past six years. That is right not only did he not create any jobs, he crushed thousands of jobs. This is why newspapers are dying.
Woman Voter
May 3rd, 2010
Deep-pocketed donors have a strong interest in picking our candidates for us. The television ads and GOTV their money pays for almost always assures that we get their choice. Their choice is Onorato.
Who is the best possible candidate for governor?
REALSteelersFan
May 3rd, 2010
Steelersfan:
If you knew anything, anything at all, you would know that Onorato has nothing to do with Aliquippa, which is in BEAVER County (and which last did a countywide reassessment in 1982) and not Allegheny County. Allegheny County did its most recent reassessment in 2002. I will give you credit, you know that Aliquippa and Fox Chapel are both in Western Pennsylvania. If you are going to throw mud, at least be accurate.
finally phil
May 3rd, 2010
It’s about time!
Jim
May 4th, 2010
How is Onorato to blame for this? I thought all economic problems were the fault of George Bush.
Gov. Campaign Strategy – Williams Ad, Onorato Emails | Progress Pittsburgh
May 4th, 2010
[...] is the ad from the Williams campaign (h/t to PA2010.com – it took us a while to find this ad on [...]
Lee
May 10th, 2010
It seems absurd that when a candidate airs an ad that shows disparity amongst Mr. Onorato’s campaign rhetoric he is labeled as “desperate”. Really? I think this is a great ad. Onorato needs to be revealed for what he is. A continuation of Rendell methodology. A candidate that caters to special interest as evidenced by his campaign war chest.