Producer of Raimondo’s Cranston Ad Has Been Criticized for False Ads Previously
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Washington-based Putnam Partners, the producers of Gina Raimondo’s miscue TV ad which criticized Allan Fung for his leadership in Cranston, RI, but actually showed footage of Providence, is tied to a number of other controversies including what HuffPost deemed producing a blatantly false ad.
SEE THE FLAWED RAIMONDO AD HERE
According to campaign finance reports filed with RI’s Board of Elections, Raimondo’s campaign has paid the firm over $700,000 to produce a number of TV-spots. Raimondo's campaign was forced to re-cut the attack ad on Fung. SEE HERE
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe error by Putnam Partners is not the first and some of the firm’s most controversial errors are tied to a campaign which is now emerged in both a state ethics investigation and is facing federal charges about illegal campaign donations.
Both matters involve the U.S. States Senate candidate and Putnam Partners’ client Alison Lundergan Grimes.
Putnam Partners controversies are tied to false ads, racist ads and now Putnam’s candidate Grimes is under investigation; and in another matter tied to her campaign's finances, her father and another man are facing federal charges in Kentucky tied to illegal contributions to the campaign.
“Kentucky Democratic operatives Dale Emmons and Jerry Lundergan pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday to allegations they made illegal corporate campaign contributions to the 2014 U.S. Senate campaign of Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes,” the Lexington Herald-Leader reported on Thursday,
“The indictment alleged Lundergan used his company to pick up expenses for the campaign, but didn’t seek reimbursement from the campaign until a grand jury subpoenaed campaign documents. It also alleged Emmons’ consulting company charged Lundergan and his business for his expenses rather than charging the campaign,” reports the paper.
On Friday in a separate matter, not directly tied to the federal charges of her father’s alleged illegal actions on behalf of her campaign, “The Kentucky Personnel Board voted Friday to launch an investigation into allegations that Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes’ office allowed politics to play a role in deciding which employees to hire and whether Grimes had created a hostile work environment for employees of the State Board of Elections.”
Putnam Under Fire for False Ads
According to left-leaning website HuffPost, Putnam Partners produced one of the worst ads of 2014. HuffPost flagged the ad as it simply was not true.
“In this ad, Kentucky Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes accuses Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of “pocket[ing] $600,000 from enemies of coal, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.” If that sounds strange to you, well, that’s because it isn’t true. (view ad here)
Tom Putnam, founder of Putnam Partners said during the 2014 race in a Kentucky.com article, "I don't like to think of myself as a weapon in somebody's arsenal."
Putnam also did work for a range of other clients including President Barack Obama and the draft Joe Biden effort.
Others have called out Raimondo’s firm. A Charles Lenchner took to the website the Action Network to criticize another Putnam Partner’s ad that was alleged to be racist. According to an online petition posted, “PUTNAM PARTNERS: MARK PUTNAM, PHILLIP DE VELLIS, JIM DUFFY
This week [refering to another ad in the 2014 Senate campaign], Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes put out a racist ad attacking 'illegal immigrants.' This video is so beyond the pale, that people working in Democratic election campaigns as staff and/or consultants are standing together to declare that this is beyond the pale.
The ad is so racist, such a smear on the Democratic Party and our work as people who make a living helping Democrats get elected, that taking a stand has become necessary. We ask that folks signing this petition name their firm, employer, or most recent/current campaign they have worked for in the comments section.”
Repeated calls and emails to Putnam Partners were not responded to.
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