CAMPAIGN ’88 : Jackson Aide in Rival Ad

John Norris, Jackson’s Iowa coordinator, recently starred in a television commercial for rival candidate Bruce Babbitt.

“I wasn’t too pleased,” said Norris, 29.

Last spring, before Norris took over the Jackson campaign, he agreed to pose for a Babbitt commercial as a favor to his companion, Laura May, who is Babbitt’s Polk County coordinator.

When his scenes did not appear in Babbitt’s summer commercials, he figured that was the end of it. A couple of weeks ago, dozens of Jackson supporters recognized Norris as the man seated at the breakfast table in a Babbitt commercial watching a mock Feb. 9 newscast that reported “Bruce Babbitt stunned the nation by winning the Iowa caucuses.” The spot even included a closeup of a thoughtful-looking Norris.

“I got some calls from supporters who know me, saying, ‘What’s the deal?’ ” Norris said.

Norris asked the Babbitt campaign to pull the commercials, which ran for 10 days. A Babbitt spokeswoman said Norris did not make his request until the scheduled run was almost over, so nothing was done about it.

“I’m flattered that they think my face is going to do some good for Bruce Babbitt,” Norris said, “but I’m trying to tell people that face is for Jackson.”