Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s Economic and Community Development Department has been running ads touting Connecticut’s economy during the final month of an election that has seen the state’s economy criticized by Malloy’s political opponent.
The department has spent a total of $908,721 for TV and digital ads this fall. It is spending $403,963 to re-air a set of TV ads which the DECD first aired in the spring. For the fall campaign, the department spent $355,640 on the New York media market and $48,323 in Connecticut, according to DECD spokesman Jim Watson.
They began running on Sept. 29 and will continue until Oct. 26, just a few days before voters cast ballots in the governor’s race.
Asked about the ads during a Monday press availability, Malloy said the state is competing with other states for every job.
“New York is advertising on TV stations in Connecticut right now, talking about the programs that they have. We have programs that are better than they have and of course we should be getting that message out. But, as opposed to my two predecessors, I don’t appear in any ads,” he said.
The commercials tout Connecticut’s business climate and feature executives talking about why they chose to grow in the state. The testimonials include representatives from companies that have received state assistance, like Dr. Edison Liu, CEO of Jackson Laboratory. However, the ads do not mention that the featured companies received state aid, grants or tax breaks.
“Join the growing businesses building their futures in Connecticut,” a narrator says in both 30-second TV spots.
Although most are airing outside of Connecticut, the ads work to undercut a campaign narrative of Malloy’s Republican opponent Tom Foley who has criticized the state’s economic and business climate under Malloy throughout this year’s gubernatorial campaign.
“Are you happy where Connecticut is today? I’m not. Our economy is not moving, government policies simply aren’t working,” Foley says in his latest TV ad. “… Let’s stop the anti-business policies driving jobs out of state.”
When the ads first began in the spring, Republicans accused Malloy of crossing a line between promoting the state and using taxpayer dollars to for his campaign.
