Two candidates airing their rivalry

BY BRANDON BAIN | STAFF WRITER

March 14, 2006

New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is seen after a fundraiser at the Glen Oaks Country Club in Old Westbury. (Newsday / Karen Wiles Stabile / February 15, 2006)

Let the battle of the political campaign ads begin.

Both Democratic contenders for governor, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi and State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, took to the airwaves last night with their first campaign television ads.

Suozzi, who gives his fifth State of the County address tonight in Mineola, vowed in his first commercial to "shake up" Albany, a reference to his "Fix Albany" campaign, designed to push state lawmakers to reduce Medicaid costs.

In the 30-second ad, "Shake-Up," Suozzi stands with the Capitol building in Albany and statue of Civil War Gen. Philip Sheridan on a horse as the backdrop.

Looking into the camera, with flashing closeups and dramatic music playing in the background, Suozzi says:

"I've turned 'the worst-run county in the country' into one of the best. I'm Tom Suozzi and I've never been afraid to shake things up. New York could use some of that right now. Soaring property taxes, failing public schools, more upstate jobs lost every year.

"And Albany? Forget about it. I'm running for governor to fix that. Because government should work for us, not the other way around."

The spot ends with an announcer saying: "Tom Suozzi. A different kind of Democrat. For governor."

"Tom has never served in statewide office nor has he run for statewide office so most people across the state don't even know who he is," said campaign manager Kim Devlin in explaining Suozzi's "sizable" ad buy.

Spitzer, with a big lead in early polls, does not appear in his own ad, which paints him as the candidate of the people.

His 30-second ad is paced more slowly and features mostly voice-over and a "For Rent" sign on a closed diner and several shots of New Yorkers of various ages and ethnicities.

"For every New Yorker whose husband or child has to go somewhere else just to get a job," an announcer says. "For every New Yorker drowning in property taxes" and "who's been told you can't fight City Hall so many times they've come to believe it. For every New Yorker without a voice."

Spitzer then says over the sound of a cheering crowd, "I represent the people of the State of New York."

Both camps declined to disclose the cost of their ads, which began running across the state on local and cable networks.

Of the three Republican candidates in the primary, former state minority leader John Faso so far is the only one to run a live ad, pegged at $104,000, which announced his candidacy in February.