Cropp Attacks Fenty in New Radio Ads

D.C. mayoral candidate Linda W. Cropp will ramp up her increasingly pointed attacks on opponent Adrian M. Fenty today with a pair of radio spots, the first on-air campaign advertising in the race for mayor before the Sept. 12 Democratic primary.

The two one-minute radio ads seek to paint Fenty as an obstructionist D.C. Council member who was an irresponsible lawyer before he was elected to office.

Both ads feature a 1999 case in which Fenty mishandled the accounts of an elderly man while he was acting as a court-appointed guardian. Fenty, who was running for council at the time, has acknowledged his oversight and said he voluntarily repaid $15,000 to the man's estate.

"Fenty was admonished for his neglect," one advertisement devoted exclusively to the case announces in a voice-over. "An official investigation labeled Fenty 'incompetent, negligent or both.' "

Fenty's spokesman, Alec Evans, criticized Cropp's approach.

"There are only 26 days left in the election, and the opposition is really desperate. This is just more of the same tired politics of the past," Evans said in a written statement. "District voters are turned off by these negative tactics and the politics of 'anything goes.' We will continue to engage residents door-to-door to discuss our vision for the future of the District of Columbia."

Cropp aides said yesterday that the ads will run on many stations in the region over several days, on both talk- and music-oriented programs. They declined to disclose how much the ads cost. As of last week, Cropp had $1.27 million in her campaign account; Fenty had $1.61 million in funds. Both campaigns have said television ads also are a possibility in the final two weeks.

A Washington Post poll last month found that Fenty led Cropp by 10 points among likely voters. Cropp, chairman of the D.C. Council for the past nine years, changed the tone of her campaign last week when she mailed thousands of brochures to voters criticizing Fenty's vote against an emergency crime bill last month.

"Fenty puts our safety at risk," the brochure stated. In news conferences, candidate forums and another mailing since then, Cropp has hammered Fenty on public safety, education and the court guardian issue. Her campaign also has called voters at home, noting Fenty's position on the crime bill and reminding them that former deputy U.S. attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. has endorsed Cropp.

This week, Cropp challenged Fenty to a one-on-one debate, and he accepted. It will take place at 4 p.m. Aug. 28 and will be shown on NewsChannel 8. Despite agreeing to the debate, Fenty has responded to Cropp's attacks by trying not to get into a direct confrontation. His first direct-mail brochure to voters this week did not mention her.

Cropp also revealed in one ad that Fenty had been on the board of a failed D.C. charter school. Fenty, however, said he was only briefly involved and did not attend board meetings.