October 17, 2012 06:23 PM UTC

Tighe Takes to TV, Too.

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• by: Colorado Pols

On the heels of Commissioner John Odom’s first television ad this cycle, Democratic challenger Casey Tighe has released a commercial of his very own.

From Tighe:

The Jefferson County Commissioner race in District 2 has taken to the airwaves. Challenger Casey Tighe has released an ad touting his his long career in government accountability as a CDOT auditor.  The ad also points out the main themes of his campaign; Jefferson County the perfect place for the live, work, play lifestyle, and Casey has worked for years to ensure the financial stability of the county as the Chair of the Audit committee until it was disbanded in 2011. Casey wants to bring accountability back into county government.  

The incumbent Commissioner John Odom also released his own commercial and announced that he will be airing it during Monday Night Football and throughout the rest of the month until election day.  The ad emphasizes the financial stability of the county by explaining that the county’s credit rating has been upheld by Moody’s and also quotes Fitch Ratings saying “extensive financial planning has contributed to the county’s solid financial operations.”  

Odom, who was appointed two years ago to replace former Commissioner Kevin McCaskey after he resigned, had been in office less than a year when the Moody’s assessment was made, and when Tighe was asked about the commercial his response was “It’s cute, I’m glad to see the county has been benefitting from the years of hard work my team did on the Audit Committee before it was dissolved, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish when I am commissioner.”

It’s not perfect, but Tighe should be particularly proud of this television spot. Although the Democrat has consistently outpaced his opponent in fundraising this campaign, August finance reports didn’t show that Tighe had raised enough money to air television ads at all, even on cable. And, unlike Odom, Tighe doesn’t have deep enough pockets to self-finance his entire candidacy.

That the Tighe campaign produced and is airing anything on television indicates that the Democrat has raised enough to stay competitive against an incumbent Republican. That’s particularly impressive for a first time candidate.

Unlike Odom’s quirky harmonica melody, Tighe tacked to the conventional in his spot, complete with upbeat praise of Jefferson County and newspaper clippings highlighting Odom’s shortcomings as commissioner. There’s even a shot of Tighe working diligently behind a desk! And meeting and smiling with voters!

The conventional approach carries with it both risks and rewards. Unlike Odom’s spot, this commercial paints Tighe as someone with a substantive record in government. His tenure as CDOT’s audit director features prominently. Although that desk shot may come off as a little trite to voters inundated with political commercials, it at least communicates that Tighe has the experience necessary to responsibly seize the reigns of fiscal management and government as a whole. Neither John Odom nor Casey Tighe have ever appeared on a county-wide ballot before. The more Tighe looks like a seasoned incumbent, then, the more voters will assume that he’s the one who belongs in the administration building.

Tighe’s ad is, however, easy to tune out. Whereas Odom’s harmonica talents are intriguing enough to invite viewers to listen to and then look at their television when the commercial plays, Tighe’s commercial runs the risk of being drowned out by the hundreds of other political spots on television right now. Because it’s just like every other single political ad, voters probably won’t remember if Tighe is running for Congress, commissioner, or some other office that vaguely relates to budgets and the economy. Odom’s that “harmonica guy.” Tighe? Just another white guy with grey hair running for office in 2012.

That whole “nerdy job” line doesn’t really fit, either. Adding levity to a commercial can help voters remember names, but there’s no such humor anywhere else in the spot. Tighe makes a poignant case that he’s better suited to serve during the first part of the ad, then he goes and proclaims himself a “nerd” when he could’ve closed strong. If you’re going to run such a standard political ad, don’t try to lighten it up at the very end. It looks like an afterthought. Voters may perceive “nerdy” to mean “responsible,” but they probably prefer “leaders” to “nerds” at the end of the day.

For all its faults, though, Tighe’s ad serves as an effective counterpoint to Odom’s messaging. For a Democrat running for a countywide seat, that exposure alone helps enormously. One television ad alone isn’t enough to win Tighe the election, of course, but unlike John Odom, Tighe’s been campaigning hard from the start.