Republican mayoral hopeful has new ad, looking for money to run it

Just eight days before the election, Philadelphia Republican mayoral candidate Karen Brown has produced a 30-second TV ad, but so far hasn’t had the cash to run it.

Brown has run a combative campaign, challenging Mayor Michael Nutter in public statements and their one debate.

The new ad, which Brown narrates herself, doesn’t mention the incumbent at all.”As I walk through my city, I see the kids in our neighborhoods, struggling to get an education. We need to guarantee that the middle-class is able to work and actually have something to show for it,” Brown says in the spot. The ad never mentions that Brown is a Republican, and it ends the candidate saying, “Let the revolution begin with us. Vote Karen Brown November 8th.”

Brown produced an earlier spot which got some play on Channel 10. The station gave her free time after she complained to the FCC about its broadcast of a televised town hall with Nutter.

Brown complained in a telephone interview that she wasn’t getting fair treatment from the media, citing the times her Channel 10 ad ran, and the fact that a segment on Pennsylvania Cable Network is running on Halloween.

She said she decided it was best to talk about herself rather than Nutter in her new ad.

“I’m not getting the coverage from the media. He’s choosing to ignore me, so I’m choosing to ignore him,” Brown said. “I’m going to run my campaign by myself, about myself. And I’ll let the people decide who is better, me or him.”

Brown said she hopes to raise money to run the new ad on cable television. Last week her required finance report showed her campaign $826 in the red.

Brown said it’s been hard to raise money because potential contributors “are afraid of the revenge of the mayor.”