CAMPAIGN ADS PUNCHY, BUT ARE THEY RELEVANT?Byline: NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN Staff Writer Board member Jon Lauritzen's mailers before the March primary were decidedly punchier than those sent out by challenger Tamar Galatzan. They showed a shark representing City Hall as it devoured Valley schools. They played off Galatzan's lack of education experience by showing children dressed in a doctor's scrubs and a pilot's uniform with the text: "Cute kid ... but you wouldn't let him operate on you;" and "Cute kid ... but you wouldn't let him fly a 747." Most of the mailers sent out by Galatzan show her in her role as a mother of two young sons, who cares about the education they'll receive in Los Angeles' public schools. But she's taken her share of shots at Lauritzen, accusing him of hiring more bureaucrats than teachers during his four years on the board and criticizing his support of a $50 million parking lot. Campaign managers for both Lauritzen and Galatzan defend the mailers and said the criticism they offer of their opponent is valid. But USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. Professor Jonathan Wilcox said neither campaign offers voters a clear idea of what the candidate would accomplish if elected to represent the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. on the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Unified board. Lauritzen's campaign material, Wilcox said, are "desperately off-topic" and demonstrate a "tragic lack of subtlety sub·tle·ty n. pl. sub·tle·ties 1. The quality or state of being subtle. 2. Something subtle, especially a nicety of thought or a fine distinction. ." "When an incumbent makes the campaign politically driven rather than policy driven, it reveals a fundamental weakness in his campaign position," he said. And Wilcox, who lives in the Valley, said Galatzan's "soft-focused campaign" is indicative of "the incredible shrinking debate" at LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) . "That strategy will only succeed if there is significant discontent with the incumbent and it seems obvious to me that her candidacy springs from a place that realizes from the beginning that Lauritzen is vulnerable," he said. "The fact that he's in a runoff Runoff The procedure of printing the end-of-day prices for every stock on an exchange onto ticker tape. Notes: If the "tape is late" then it can take a long time to print off all the closing prices. is already a near-death experience near-death experience, phenomenon reported by some people who have been clinically dead, then returned to life. Descriptions of the experience differ slightly in detail from person to person, but usually share some basic elements: a feeling of being outside one's ." naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3722 |
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