March 31, 2011 06:37 PM UTC

Boigon Goes Negative

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• by: Colorado Pols

Or rather, Mayoral candidate Carol Boigon is lucky enough to be able to go negative. It looks like the race for second place (and the Mayoral runoff with all-but-inevitable Chris Romer) is now officially underway. This is also exactly why we thought it was so devastating when Michael Hancock and Doug Linkhart voted in favor of pay increases for Denver elected officials.

From an e-mail we received from the Boigon campaign:

Carol Boigon’s mayoral campaign released a new commercial yesterday about how she stood up for Denver families and voted no on a pay raise for elected officials.  The commercial also highlights how she saved taxpayers $50,000 by returning money budgeted to run her Council office back to the City.

As you’ll recall, we weren’t necessarily the biggest fans of Boigon’s first TV ad; that particular advertisement was too cheesy and self-indulgent to really have swayed many voters. That said, while the production value still has that “nephew with editing equipment” kind of feel to it, this is a much better advertisement for Boigon. For one, it doesn’t include her voice above the roar of fake airplane engines, but beyond that, it’s the kind of ad only Boigon is able to run.

Indeed, only she had the political instinct of those councilors running for Mayor to vote against a Council pay raise amid one of Denver’s worst economic struggles. Don’t get us wrong: her decision to vote against the pay increase was exclusively a political one. It’s not as if she needs the money.

That no vote, however, is already proving itself far more valuable than a few extra thousand dollars a year to Boigon. As one of three candidates to have had the option to vote no on that bill, and as the only one who actually voted no, Boigon’s positioned herself to be able to run ads like this. She can slam Doug Linkhart, and more importantly Michael Hancock, without it making it seem like she’s slinging mud. After all, nobody wants a politician who gives themselves more money. She can capitalize on Linkhart’s and Hancock’s missteps because she serves in the same chamber as them: Chris Romer, for example, would not be able to.

Boigon’s also got the fundraising numbers to be able to sustain multiple ad buys. While James Mejia could arguably advertise his economic and cost-cutting prowess while manager of Parks and Recreation, he probably won’t be able to buy and run an ad that’s so issue related, instead focusing on basic introductions to those that haven’t heard of him yet.

Boigon really got lucky that Linkhart and Hancock voted for higher salaries. In running advertisements like this, she’s able to introduce herself to voters as a populist candidate working for the common man, a description most who know her well wouldn’t tag on Boigon. More importantly, she’s able to talk about financial responsibility in a recession.

She can’t campaign on this issue alone, though,  and it’s unlikely any more bombs will drop in the 15 days before ballots do. That’s a shame: she’s gonna need all the help she can get to help raise her floundering name ID.