Saturday, April 5, 2014

MYSTERY AD, PART 2: Ad Buy Seemingly Targeting MAYOR Scott Smith Increased To $173K; But Why? And, By Whom?

Although the mini-mystery of the content of the $173,000 ad buy by a new political non-profit will not last much longer, the larger mysteries may linger:  who is funding this campaign and why they are targeting conservative Mesa Mayor Scott Smith for his presidency of the U.S. Conference of Mayors when he is involved in a tightly-contested GOP primary for Governor.

Arizona's Politics reported yesterday on the new ad buy by an Iowa-based group called Legacy Foundation Action Fund.  At the time, the FCC filing showed a total market buy of just over $111,000.  That filing (by KPNX) has now been revised - the LFAF has purchased $173,000 worth of airtime over the next couple of weeks.

One of LFAF's current projects is pressuring the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors "to support policies that move this nation forward and reject wasteful spending, job-killing regulations, and Obamacare."  They have posted 60-second radio ads targeting Smith and the two (Democratic) mayors who are Vice Presidents of the organization.  (The LFAF's other projects include supporting a property tax reform measure in Iowa and supporting a conservative Senatorial candidate in Nebraska.)

The mystery ad began running on Friday but is not scheduled for any Saturday slots (on Channel 12, at least).

As LFAF has not yet posted the ad on the internet - a mystery for such a large campaign in the year 2014 - and has not responded to Arizona's Politics' inquiries, PLEASE let us know if you spot the ad and confirm the assumed content.  If you could forward a copy of the ad - or, a link - that would be all the better.

(The earlier article on this subject is located here.)


We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.

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