Ace Smith to run Measure R campaign

My friend Rick Orlov at the Daily News had a nice scoop in his Monday column this week: Political consultant Ace Smith is going to run the Measure R campaign this fall.

I had heard the same thing a couple of weeks ago but wasn't able to nail it down.

What makes this interesting is twofold: Smith has long worked for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is one of the chief proponents of Measure R and its most visible public face.

He also ran Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign in several states, and Smith has long been known for opposition research, something I think is interesting given the fact that three of the five Los Angeles County supervisors (Mike Antonovich, Don Knabe and Gloria Molina) have come out against the half-cent sales tax proposed in Measure R to pay for more mass-transit and road projects.

I spoke to Smith this morning. Here are the five questions I asked him and his answers:

1. What will the campaign look like?

"I think the message is very simple," Smith said. "Here's an opportunity to create a comprehensive plan to get traffic moving again in Los Angeles County and [Measure R] captures every part of the county. It's not just a bunch of huge projects."

2. Has a fundraising committee been formed yet?

Smith said they're working on it now.

3. Is he waiting until Gov. Schwarzenegger signs the state bill, AB 2321, to authorize the Measure R election to take place on Nov. 4?

Smith said no. They're working on a campaign now, and he expects the bill will be signed. "That's a technicality," he said.

4. What happens if the sales tax in L.A. County and the rest of the state is raised to balance the state budget?

"We're going forward," Smith said. "The time has come to do this."

5. Were his opposition-research skills a factor in his getting the job to run the campaign?

"That is such old news," Smith said. "If people think that is the only play I've got in my playbook... This is about making a case to voters."

Smith emphasized several times that one of the important aspects of Measure R is that it would return money to cities for smaller projects such as pothole repair and traffic-light synchronization. It's very clear that that is going to be a big part of the message the campaign for Measure R will hammer home.

As for the politics, Smith's selection in my view reaffirms what a big deal this campaign is for Villaraigosa. At this point, Villaraigosa's reelection next March doesn't appear to be very competitive -- Smith is running that campaign too -- but there remains the chance that Villaraigosa runs for governor in 2010.

There are already a pile of names being thrown around for that job, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, to name just three. It's beyond obvious that if Villaraigosa gets into the race, he will need some big-time accomplishments to tout, of which securing $30 billion in sales-tax revenues for transportation -- the Achilles heel of L.A. County -- would be a big one.

Related: a profile of Smith from earlier this year by my colleague Robin Abcarian.

--Steve Hymon

Photo: Ace Smith. Credit: Karen Tam / For The Times

Comments

[Bart Reed]

No, CalWatch, Ace is not too late. His absolute specialty is to target absentee voters and get them to vote for what he is promoting. And his next absolute skill is campaign pieces. Ace campaign pieces are simple, strong, passionate and convincing. He knows exactly how many to send out and he has statistics and metrics to back up all his work.

For example, he could, after he works on you, convince you to vote to triple Metrolink Fares and not only would you vote yes, but you'd convince your friends and family that the future of our planet depended upon getting those Yes votes and you'd deliver!

In this election, it is all about turning out the sliver that will vote Yes on Measure R and he is good about "Getting Out The Vote". Also, his team is taped into raising huge gobs of money, so Ace has a strong chance of delivering. There aren't a whole lot of people who have the skill to get the 2/3rds Yes, but Ace is a winning choice.

[calwatch]

The question is, is it too late? There are about 50 days to the election, and folks will start receiving their absentee ballots (if they subscribed to them) in about four weeks.

[Spokker]

I'm voting yes based on his name alone.

[David Murphy]

This is a smart move on the part of the Mayor, as Ace is well respected for his work on the Clinton campaign and many other efforts. It should be an interesting Fall!

[Damien Newton]

Ace Smith? Sounds like a comic book alter-ego name. Were Teddy Hammer and Johny Gold not available?