Republican mayoral candidate Ron Asta released his first ad, asking voters whether he should stay in the race.
“In 1994, I was involved in a tragic auto accident that took the life of an 18-year-old girl,” he said in the online ad, referring to an accident in which high school senior Jennifer Reeves was killed after he ran a stop sign downtown.
“The official police report cites me for failure to yield and said the girl who died was speeding and not wearing a seat belt. This tragedy continues to haunt me and her family because now that I’m running for mayor, it’s all the media wants to talk about,” continued Asta, who has had more than a dozen tickets since 1992, including for failing to yield and speeding.
“If you agree with them, I will pull out of the race.”
Asta, who said the ad will run on channels 4, 9 and 13 on Thursday, said he hasn't personally received a lot of reaction about the controversy, but has heard there are questions in the community.
"I decided to bring it to a head," he said.
Asta said he didn't have precise criteria for making his decision — it could be a raw vote, or just a gut feeling, depending on what kind of reaction he receives. He said he would like to make a decision within a week.
Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KPcB-LfqnHI
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