ALBANY—Bill Owens, the Democratic Party's candidate to replace John McHugh in Congress, just released his second ad. It shows him driving around, talking to a cameraman.
(His principal opponent, Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, has not released an ad.)
"I'll vote to cut waste and invest the savings in growth jobs, like clean energy. And we can make better use of our colleges and tech schools to recruit jobs," Owens promises.
Owen's first ad was also biographical. In this one he talks about how he created 2,000 jobs.
Owens has told me he arrived at this number by adding up jobs he created by luring companies from Canada and through his involvement with the redevelopment of the Plattsburgh Air Force Base into an industrial park.
He worked on that project with the late Ron Stafford, his law partner and a Republican state senator. The Stafford family today issued a statement endorsing Scozzafava.
"We need forward-thinking leaders who are prepared to tackle the issues of tomorrow," the Stafford family wrote. "The people of the North Country stand up for what they believe in and we see this attribute in Dede. In an era of increasingly negative politics, we are looking forward to a positive campaign founded on the merits of her record and candidacy. Like Ron, Dede understands the people of the region and will carry on the good work of John McHugh as a voice for the region."
In addition to Owens, Doug Hoffman, the candidate of the Conservative Party, is on the air with an ad that attacks Scozzafava. His campaign was today endorsed by failed presidential candidate Fred Thompson, "an actor who has appeared in such blockbuster movies as the Hunt for Red October, Die Hard II and the Emmy Award winning TV series Law & Order," according to a release from the Hoffman campaign.
