The War of Words Continues: Locke vs. Brown

After accusing Mayoral Candidate Peter Brown of  trying to buy votes in the African-American community, today Gene Locke released a new radio ad that calls Brown’s truthfulness into question.  This is not a surprise. Even the Annise Parker campaign has raised questions about Brown’s alleged history of  evading questions and not being truthful about different issues.

This strong attack comes days before the end of early voting and election day, Tuesday, November 3rd.  With polls showing Locke running in third place, is this ad effective enough to get him into the runoff?

Here’s the release I received from the Locke campaign: 

LOCKE CAMPAIGN RELEASES NEW RADIO AD
All Assertions Backed by Facts   

Houston, TX – The Gene Locke campaign today released a new radio ad that will begin airing on several Houston radio stations.
 
The sixty-second radio ad, “Trust”, points out a number of questions that have been posed to Peter Brown that he has refused to answer, as well as illustrates how out of touch Brown is with most Houstonians.

“It’s time for Houstonians to get to know the Peter Brown behind the TV commercials,” said Locke Senior Advisor Kim Devlin. “From the inconsistencies between his words and his actions, to his refusal to answer questions, a pattern emerges of someone you just can’t trust.”

The Locke campaign has released a Fact Sheet accompanying the transcript of the radio ad that backs up all claims made in the ad.

The transcript and fact sheet for the ad are below:
 
“Trust”
:60 radio spot

NARRATOR: In this year’s mayoral race let’s look at the facts.

We know Peter Brown’s already spent more than three million dollars to buy this election but it’s more than that.

Can we really trust Peter Brown?

When asked what he paid in property taxes he refused to answer, maybe that’s because he paid $55,000 last year, more than most of us make in a year.

And he won’t disclose family’s financial interest. How do we know if he’s padding his family’s pockets? He’s done it before.

Brown voted against low-income housing here but owns a vacation home in France.

The Houston Chronicle noted in 2007 that Brown expressed amazement at the cost of milk. And quoted Brown saying, “I don’t know much about the daily lives of people I represent.” Clearly he’s out of touch.

How can we trust Peter Brown?

It’s a good thing we have Gene Locke.

He’s been endorsed by the Houston Chronicle, over 100 Pastors, Reverends and Bishops, and most of our community leaders.

On November third, vote Gene Locke. A leader we can trust.

LOCKE: I’m Gene Locke, this political ad is paid for by Gene Locke for Mayor

THE FACTS:

 

• “We know Peter Brown’s already spent more than $3 million dollars to buy this election” (Houston Chronicle, October 27, 2009)

 

• “When asked what he paid in property taxes he refused to answer, maybe that’s because he paid $55,000 last year, more than most of us make in a year.” (KUHF/KHOU Debate October 24, 2009; Harris County Tax Records, 2008; City of Houston Planning Department)

 

• “And he won’t disclose his family’s financial interest. How do we know if he’s padding his family’s pockets? He’s done it before.” (Texas Watchdog, September 17, 2009; Houston Chronicle, December 28, 2009)

 

• “Brown voted against low-income housing here but owns a vacation home in France. (Houston City Council Minutes, October 31, 2007; Houston Chronicle, January 6, 2005)

 

• Brown expressed amazement at the cost of milk. And quoted Brown saying, “I don’t know much about the daily lives of people I represent.” (Houston Chronicle Blog, http://blogs.chron.com/cityhall/archives/2007/10/survivor_povert_1.html#comments)