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Guinta: YouTube ad by opponent is a 'desperate' bid
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By SCOTT BROOKS
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007
MANCHESTER – The city's mayoral race went digital yesterday with its first YouTube attack ad, a 73-second clip blaming Mayor Frank Guinta for Manchester's struggling schools.
The clip, posted by Democratic candidate Tom Donovan, shows Guinta explaining during a recent debate that he has been unable to focus on education because he "put so much time and energy into cutting taxes and trying to make this city safe."
"Mayor Guinta said he didn't have time to work on education. Our children deserve a mayor who will MAKE time for education," the ad says.
The Guinta campaign issued a terse response, calling the ad a "desperate attack."
The ad may be a first for a New Hampshire mayoral campaign. Unlike Presidential aspirants, candidates for local offices have been slow to make use of video-sharing Web sites.
School board Vice Chairman Leslee Stewart, a political adviser to the Donovan campaign, said she hopes the ad will appeal to young voters and residents who do not read newspapers.
"We're trying to reach voters of all ages and all interests by utilizing all the media outlets that are available to us," she said.
The ad was cut by Dan Kennedy, a Donovan campaign staffer and recent New York University graduate. In its first 24 hours online, it was viewed roughly 140 times.
Donovan has been aggressive in attacking Guinta, the Republican incumbent elected in 2005. In recent weeks, his campaign has accused the mayor of putting out misleading crime statistics and criticized his handling of a dispute over the taxpayers' stake in MerchantsAuto.com Stadium.
On education, the YouTube ad notes Manchester's recent designation as a "district in need of improvement."
Stewart said district administrators and school board members worked thousands of man-hours to conceive a plan that would improve test scores over four to seven years. Guinta balked, she said.
Stewart said the district is worse off today than it was two years ago.
"The mayor has not shown leadership," she said.
Guinta is chairman of the city school board. His campaign Web site notes he visited every school in the city during his first year in office.
Guinta also takes credit for securing $30 million in federal funding for a Job Corps Center that will serve 500 students.
Democratic state Rep. Jane Beaulieu, also running for mayor, said she was surprised Donovan's campaign would attack Guinta over his comments during last week's televised debate. She said the mayor does not deserve any more blame for the district's test scores than do school board members and administrators.
She also questioned Donovan's decision to post the clip on YouTube.
"I don't think it resonates well," she said. "YouTube? Who watches that? Young people? Those are the people that don't vote."
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YOUR COMMENTS
I have a question for the Mayor. Will he be sending his children to our Manchester Public Schools? His answer could be very telling. Does he really know and understand the great work being done by teachers despite all of the difficulties they face?
- Suzanne Paradise, Manchester, NH
That is quite offensive that Beaulieu says young people don't vote. Count me in for a $50 donation to her opponent, and I'll get my friends to do the same.
- Fred Wilson, Manchester
Jane Beaulieu is right here. This is a low blow, and Mayor Guinta cannot be held responsible for the failures of a school board that is utterly dominated by Democrats, and has been for years. This shows that Donovan has no real ideas., only baseless attacks.
- Stephen, Manchester
This commecial brings out the absolute worst in political campaigns. It is pretty easy to take something completly out of context and splice it to make it look like something totally different. The thing Donovan forgets is that Manchester voters are not stupid and can tell when something is being fabricated and when a politician is treating them as if they are easily manipulabe. Maybe Donovan and Stewart should try blamming themselves for the problems with education since they are on the school board...and perhaps they should look at who is truely to blame for the tax problems in this city..the aldermen and exmayor Baines..
- Casey Johnes, Manchester, NH
Frank Guinta should not be reelected because he has failed in all that he promised and he is too lazy to acknowledge the receipt letters from constituents expression some concerns. Probably he is too busy for that too. Having said that Tom Donovan is not the option one thing he is a Lawyer and this is worst Lawyers are all basically crooked, we do not mean a Lawyer as Mayor what is needed this time around is woman and my choice is Cathy Gatsas.
- Richard L. Fortin, Manchester
This is hardly an attack ad, it simply takes the words out of the mayor's mouth. What I'd like to hear from the mayor, as chair of the school board, is that "the buck stops here", but of course he won't say that. As for Beaulieu, young people DO vote, and YouTube is an extremely prominant web tool. Look what it did during the '06 races to Sen. Allen.
- Ed, Manchester
It is interesting that Donovan blames all the city schools' ills on Frank Guinta. Frank tried so hard to reduce taxes and he was overruled by the Aldermanic Board who approved a budget with increases in school funding and a tax increase for the Manchester Tax payers. This is an example of Donovan choosing to "have it both ways" On the one hand, he was complicit in throwing more money at the district and inciting parents to show up and diatribe against the mayor when he stood his ground. On the other hand, he runs for Mayor after coming off the very same board that is the product of the rating of "needing improvement." So here is the Aldermanic board, at the behest and urging of the school board throwing more money at the problem. When that doesn't work, they just attack the Mayor and make it his fault anyway. What phonies Leslee Stewart and Tom Donovan are...
- Rick Olson, Manchester
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