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Briefings: What Boronski Has to Ad…

UPDATED 10/24/14 12:47PM: The original version of this post listed no ad buys. One at WWLP has been reported.

Debra Boronski (via Facebook/Boronski campaign)

Eric Lesser will not be the only candidate in the 1st Hampden & Hampshire Senate district to have an ad, but it remains an open question whether his will be the one on television. Republican Debra Boronski released an ad late last night that seeks to emphasize her themes.

Boronski has spent much of the campaign focusing on biographical details as her pitch for electing her to succeed Gale Candaras, who is retiring to seek the position of Hampden Register of Probate. Her ad thusly focuses heavily on her business career and support of unnamed Democrats, but for one.

As with Lesser’s ad, Boronski’s has an unseen narrator, but individuals also speak to the camera. Some are long-time associates of Boronski, including John Maybury who serves on East Longmeadow Board of Public Works with her partner Dan Burack. Others like Tim Ryan, a former Springfield City Councilor says she will bring to heel out-of-control spending, although Boronski, if elected, would be part of a tiny minority party in the senate. Since leaving public life, Ryan has mostly endorsed Republicans in competitive general elections.

The ad is interspersed with shots of campaign events and supporters holding signs and announcing their support more broadly for Boronski. Little is said about her goals other than spending. The ad claims Boronski is responsible for creating “thousands” of jobs, but it does not explain where or what jobs. It mirrors language Boronski has used on the trail, which likewise has been light on detail.

The ad avoids the bombs Boronski has lobbed at Lesser, some of which appeared rooted in her misinterpretation of irony, but came before her own ethical behavior was questioned. While the ad appears on her website, it is not visible on Youtube without the video’s web address. The video links back to the account of a Marty Langford, a professor of communications at American International College.

Boronski has only purchased ad time of less than $20,000 through Election Day on WWLP, although other buys are expected. Boronski has relied heavily on loans to fund her campaign, but her capacity to do so is limited by her own income. Based on her tax returns from last year, she had income of less than $20,000 and reported no assets on her Statement of Financial Interest. Because she and Burack are not married, any joint accounts they hold cannot be used to fund her campaign or if they were, could be investigated to assure none of Burack money went into her campaign coffers as he has already contributed the maximum to her.