Feb. 11--With less than two weeks to go until Election Day, Chicago mayoral challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia is airing his first TV ads.
Garcia is spending more than $600,000 to put up the spots on some major broadcast and Spanish-language stations, said Andrew Sharp, Garcia's campaign manager. Garcia's campaign also plans to spend an as-yet-undetermined amount of money on radio ads, he added.
The amount the Cook County commissioner is spending pales in comparison to the millions of dollars Mayor Rahm Emanuel has spent to burnish his image in TV and radio ads ahead of the Feb. 24 election.
In the ad, Garcia introduces himself to voters by saying he grew up "right here" in Chicago and then spends the rest of it hitting Emanuel on crime and tax incentives for developments undertaken by large businesses. Garcia pledges to put 1,000 more police officers on the street and to end the special taxing district spending.
"If there's enough money to keep them happy, there ought to be enough to keep us safe," Garcia says at the end of the ad.
Also running for mayor are businessman Willie Wilson, 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti and community activist William "Dock" Walls.
Wilson also has been airing TV commercials in what's been a largely self-funded campaign. Fioretti, meanwhile, has aired some radio ads.
