Pro-Garcetti group buys radio time, Garcetti camp hits Greuel ad
An independent expenditure group supporting Eric Garcetti’s Los Angeles mayoral campaign has purchased more than $400,000 of radio ads on stations aimed at African American and Latino listeners, according to a Democratic media operative who is not working for either of the mayoral candidates.
The purchase by Lots of People Who Like Eric Garcetti, an independent expenditure group, included time on hip-hop stations catering to audiences 18 to 24 years of age, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The move comes as mayoral rival Wendy Greuel made an unusually large ad buy of $700,000 on broadcast television for the next five days. That’s an amount that a mayoral candidate is more likely to spend closer to the May 21 runoff than more than a month out.
Greuel, the city controller, and Garcetti, a city councilman, have raised roughly the same amount of money since the March 5 primary, but Greuel has an advantage that allows her to advertise early – deep-pocketed outside groups backing her campaign who advertised on television on her behalf during the primary.
Greuel’s new ad is a 30-second spot that is biographical and features some of her most prominent backers – basketball legend Magic Johnson, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and former Mayor Richard Riordan.
Called “Crises,” the ad highlights Greuel’s role in delivering federal aid during the Northridge earthquake when she worked in President Bill Clinton’s administration, helping former Mayor Tom Bradley start the LA’s BEST afterschool program and her work as the city’s current controller.
Garcetti’s campaign blasted the ad, saying that it vastly overstated her resume.
“Greuel’s ad is false all over the place and exaggerates her resume,” said Garcetti spokesman Jeff Millman. “Despite the images in the ad, she had nothing to do with repairing the collapsed freeways from the Northridge earthquake. As a 26-year-old City Hall staffer, she played a minor role in the creation of LA’s BEST. As controller, she has recovered only $239,000 in waste, not the ‘millions’ claimed in the ad.”
ALSO:
Trial starts for woman accused of severing husband’s penis
Five teenagers to be charged in slaying of San Jose paramedic
After Boston bombing, more security at Grand Prix, Festival of Books
Twitter: @LATSeema
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
