Friday, February 13, 2015

Campaign Airs Television and Print Ads on Weinberger and Development; Schedule of Upcoming Debates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- A new television ad developed by the Greg Guma for Mayor campaign with the candidate's son, Jesse Lloyd Guma, began to air during local newscasts Thursday, Feb. 12. The contract was signed Wednesday with WPTZ for the 30 second spot to run during the morning and evening news, as well during Meet the Press on Sunday.

Guma has made protecting Burlington from gentrification a major emphasis of his campaign. The ad uses humor, animation, audio and visual effects, and an ominous voiceover reminiscent of Republican "attack" ads to make one of the candidate's points -- "we can't just build our way out of problems."  It ends with the candidate's green tree logo and the tag line: Take the target off Burlington's back.

The ad was released on YouTube last week. Here is a link: Take the target off Burlington's BackIt has been edited to comply with campaign regulations. 
 
The son of Guma and peace activist and feminist Robin Lloyd, Jesse Guma is a partner in Grand Street Media, a media production company that makes documentaries, promotional films, commercials, and the successful web series Maximum Warrior.

Guma also ran a second print ad this week in the popular weekly Seven Days, contrasting what it calls "Weinberger's Unwelcome Proposals" with his own "Innovation Solutions. The Campaign Committee meets this Sunday to decide how contributions should be spent for the remaining three weeks before election day. To date, about $6,000 has been received, $4,000 spent, and $10,000 pledged. Email guma.for.mayor@gmail.com for meeting details.

During a debate at the Burlington Free Press on Wednesday with the newspaper's editorial board, Guma and Weinberger locked horns over the mayor's charge that critics of his plans and approach are anti-development. According to coverage by the Free Press: 
 
Seven Days/Matthew Thorsen
Guma fired back with criticism about the mayor's previous career as real estate developer and the fact that many local real estate developers have donated money to Weinberger's campaign, according to public records.

To say that somebody is anti-growth simply because they want to question the pace or the process is a factually inaccurate statement, Guma said.

"The question is not whether we grow or not. The question is how much, how tall, how fast," Guma said. "What is the balance between the things we want to improve and the things we want to preserve? Now, I have not yet used the phrase in this debate developer Mayor Miro Weinberger who has received thousands of dollars from developers in his war chest, you know I could have said that. But If you will agree to stop describing each question we raise about the nature of the planning process as anti-growth and anti-development, I will agree not to bring up your war chest again." 
New Contrast Ad
Remaining airtimes for the TV ad this week include: Feb. 13, during the 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. news; Feb. 15, during the 6 a.m. news, 9 a.m. Meet the Press, and 11 p.m. news.
 
The Guma campaign began on Jan. 27. Future plans include a citywide literature drop and a party/fundraiser near the end of the month. Next week's events include the WPTZ debate and the Ward 5 NPA on Tuesday, Feb. 18, and the Seven Days/CCTV Debate at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at City Hall.

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