Controversial campaign ads causing a stir

While the major party candidates for governor have kept their television advertising on the high road thus far this election season, their allies are causing a stir.

One Republican Governors Association ad was pulled by one local network affiliate last week after being found “grossly misleading.” That same ad, a revised version of which quickly returned to the airwaves, sparked an unrelated ethics complaint set to be heard next week by state elections officials.

Meanwhile, a series of Maine Democratic Party ads – the latest of which was unveiled Friday – have been assailed by the campaign of Republican nominee Chandler Woodcock for their negativity.

The Democrats’ newest ad – part of the party’s $300,000 ad buy in the governor’s race – focuses on Woodcock’s opposition to abortion rights and his votes in the Maine Senate to restrict family planning. Like the party’s ad from earlier this month titled “Backwards,” it shows footage of Woodcock walking in a parade. But the footage is played in reverse to make it appear as though he is walking backward.

“There’s only one direction for Maine, and that’s forward,” both ads conclude.

Chris Jackson, Woodcock’s campaign manager, said Friday that both “backwards” ads indicated that Democrats were worried about the re-election chances of their candidate, Gov. John Baldacci.

“They’re in trouble and so they’re trying to convince people that Chandler is something he isn’t,” said Jackson, whose candidate has called upon Baldacci to rebuke the ads.

The Baldacci campaign, limited to $500 contributions, cannot coordinate with outside groups that advertise on its behalf. Jesse Connolly, Baldacci’s campaign manager, stressed Friday that his camp had nothing to do with the party’s ads.

But as for their content, Connolly saw no problems.

“I think it’s important that people know where Chandler Woodcock stands on the issues, and some of those stands are not in line with those of mainstream Mainers,” said Connolly, who noted the party’s first ad that focused on Woodcock’s votes against overtime pay protections and a minimum wage increase.

The row over the “backwards” ads comes hot on the heels of an equally contentious fight over a Republican Governors Association ad. The ad from the Washington-based group claimed Maine had huge budget deficits and one of the country’s worst economies.

The RGA quickly revised some of the numbers in the ad to keep it on the air when a local television station pulled it, citing inaccuracies.

That same RGA ad has prompted a complaint before the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics & Election Practices.

The ad – part of the RGA’s reported $200,000 buy in Maine – urges viewers “tell Chandler Woodcock you support new solutions to change Maine’s direction.”

In her complaint, Maine Green Independent Party nominee Pat LaMarche argues that the RGA ads effectively endorse Woodcock, a publicly funded candidate who cannot accept outside contributions.

Because of that, LaMarche argues that she and the race’s other publicly funded candidate, independent Barbara Merrill, should receive matching public funds to keep pace with Woodcock.

On Thursday, however, both the Woodcock campaign and the RGA issued statements denying all of LaMarche’s assertions – among them that the Woodcock campaign helped coordinate the ads and that they expressly tell people to vote for Woodcock.

The ethics commission will consider the complaint on Sep. 22.