As Mayoral Election Winds Down, Negative Campaign Ads Try To Sway Latino Voters
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — As the mayoral race draws near, both campaigns are heavily courting the Latino voter with Spanish-speaking TV ads.
KCAL9's Dave Lopez says the Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel campaigns are focused on getting voters to the polls with the election Tuesday.
"There is no place, inside or outside, any campaign for the sort of attacks we've both withstood." said Garcetti.
"Anyone who is doing independent expenditure, I do not want you to have negative ads -- if Mr. Garcetti agrees to do that. I extended my hand. He did not take that handshake. He did not agree to it," said Greuel.
On the campaign trail Friday, the candidates wanted to focus on other issues.
Garcetti wanted to make headlines with the fact that ten current and former city council members were endorsing him.
Greuel, standing in front of a vacant building in Hollywood said, in her opinion, the "eyesore" was Garcetti's fault.
But Lopez reports, two Spanish-speaking ads, paid for by people not officially affiliated with either candidate, was what everyone was talking about today.
The ads, paid for by PAC money, are raising eyebrows.
LA's current mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, who has remained neutral in the Garcetti-Greuel contest, doesn't like the ads of the PAC money paying for them. "I am offended by it. We should all be offended," said Villaraigosa.
One of the attack ads says Greuel was a Republican and anti-immigrant. The other ad says Garcetti is a strong backer of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his controversial views on deporting immigrants.
"I just asked to shake Eric Garcetti's hand and he wouldn't," said Dr. Feliciano Serrano, the man who paid for the anti-Garcetti ads.
Lopez asked him if the ad was fair. "It sticks to the facts," said Dr. Serrano.
Regarding the ad and Dr. Serrano's buying ad time, Greuel said, "I cannot communicate with him. But I have said publicly, and I will say again, I want the negative ads taken down."
The man who is running the anti-Greuel ad said he would not take it down.
Garcetti said, "You should talk to him." Lopez asks, "Have you tried to?" Garcetti then replied, "No, I've made my statement clear. I did it early and proactively."
The man who paid for the anti-Greuel ad, Rick Jacobs, said through a spokesperson that he wasn't going to put the ad because it was "factual." He also said a phone call from the mayor will not sway him.
"I've asked him to take it off the air. I did it yesterday. I asked both campaigns. I understand that he hasn't," said Villaraigosa.
