DeStefano ad airs today...is Gov. Rell's "One Voice One, Number" ad campaign fair?

If you want to see it, watch your local television because accoring to the Courant, it's only going to be aired today and tomorrow.

Form The Hartford Courant

With the election 13 months away, Democrat John DeStefano Jr. intends today to air the first television commercial of the 2006 campaign for governor.

But viewers will have to watch carefully to catch the 30-second spot: The ad introducing the New Haven mayor will be on the air today and Wednesday only.

DeStefano, who is competing with Stamford Mayor Dannel P. Malloy for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, said the early commercial is a signal to Democrats.

"Clearly this is a message, and not just to the general public, that our candidacy is going to be aggressive and is not going to pull any punches," DeStefano said.

[...]

The spot was done by DeStefano's media consultants, Squier Knapp Dunn Communications of Washington, D.C. The firm represented President Clinton in his 1996 re-election campaign. One of its biggest current clients is a Republican: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"Unfortunately, John DeStefano is doing exactly what Gov. Rell thought he would do - tear down the state just to build himself up," said Adam Jeamel, the spokesman for the Rell campaign.

Malloy's campaign questioned investing in television commercials so far in advance of the Democratic primary in August and the general election in November 2006.

"It's so odd, frankly, we were wondering if our recent momentum" was the cause, said Chris Cooney, Malloy's campaign manager.

Malloy raised more money than DeStefano in the three-month period ending Sept. 30, but DeStefano has the overall financial advantage, with $1.86 million cash on hand to Malloy's $1.1 million.

Cooney said Malloy was the biggest beneficiary of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's recent announcement that he was not running for governor. Blumenthal once represented Stamford in the legislature.

Neither Malloy nor Rell are planning to join DeStefano on television anytime soon, their campaigns said.

Gov Rell isn't doing any television? What do you call Gov. Rell's 285,000 One Voice, One number three month ad campaign?

Democratic State Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo -- citing a $285,000 state advertising blitz -- is charging that Gov. M. Jodi Rell is using taxpayer dollars "to promote her image as she gets ready to announce that she's a candidate for governor."

DiNardo said Monday that the state's "One Voice ... One Number" campaign, which touts state incentives and subsidies available to companies that do businesses in Connecticut, is "an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars because it's more about promoting Governor Rell than it is about promoting business and job growth."

DiNardo called the three-month print, television, and radio campaign that the Republican governor unveiled three weeks ago "politics as usual."

"It's especially cynical of the governor to be doing this at the same time she claims to be on a mission to clean up the way political campaign are financed in Connecticut," she added.

DiNardo also protested that the campaign doesn't require Rell's image to be used.

"There are plenty of other ways -- more creative ways -- the same goal could have been accomplished for either a lot less money or without the governor taking part in the campaign," she said.