Patrick gets help in ad battle with Healey

Labor unions and other Democratic allies are pitching in to help Deval L. Patrick, who for the last two weeks has been heavily outspent in an increasingly combative television ad battle with his Republican opponent, Lieutenant Governor Kerry M. Healey.

Two big labor unions are paying to air their own independent television and radio ads supporting Patrick. Another Patrick ally, an independent group bankrolled by labor and Democratic organizations, may also rejoin the broadcast battle soon, after airing anti-Healey ads earlier in the campaign.

Healey and the Republican Governors Association outspent Patrick by about 3 to 1 on paid media in the first two weeks of October, before most of the recent labor union spending for Patrick began, according to estimates by the campaigns. During that period, Healey sliced into Patrick's once overwhelming lead in the polls but still trails the Democrat, according to independent surveys.

Last night, her campaign launched another negative ad, this one attacking Patrick's support for driver's licenses and tuition breaks for illegal immigrants, saying she will ``use our tax dollars to benefit those who abide by the law, not break it."

The Democrat has been pushing back with a series of negative ads about Healey's negative ads, the latest featuring Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, who defends Patrick and criticizes Healey on crime-related issues.

For the four weeks since the Sept. 19 primary, Healey has outspent Patrick by about 2 to 1, according to data compiled for the campaigns. Patrick's campaign has spent about $1.8 million, but the figures vary on Healey's ad buys. Her campaign pegs it at $3.3 million; Patrick's campaign says it's about $4 million. In addition, the Republican Governors Association spent about $890,000 on broadcast and cable ads that were pro-Healey during the early part of this month.

Since his primary win, the Democrat's fund-raising has picked up, and the campaign expects to be competitive but outspent by Healey down the stretch, Patrick campaign manager John Walsh said. On Monday, a fund-raiser headlined by former president Bill Clinton reaped an estimated $2 million, which will be split between the state party and the campaign of Patrick and his running mate, Timothy P. Murray. Another major event, featuring Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, is scheduled for Friday, and the party and campaign hope to collect another $200,000.

Healey campaign manager Tim O'Brien said the GOP candidate has had to spend more heavily to overcome the negative effects of a barrage of disparaging ads before the primary by six Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor and to offset the influence of labor unions here.

Patrick's campaign got a boost in recent days from the Massachusetts Teachers Association and Service Employees International Union Local 1199, both of which have launched ads in support of the Democratic nominee. The teachers association is airing television and radio ads promoting Patrick and his education policies and says, ``Our children lost a lot under the Romney-Healey administration." The big SEIU local has a statewide radio ad extolling the Democrat as a champion of better, more affordable healthcare.

Jim Sacks, communications director of the 102,000-member teachers union, said the MTA expects to spend ``well over $1 million" between now and the Nov. 7 election on ``issue ads" in support of the Patrick-Murray ticket.

Last week the teachers union reported spending about $75,000 on direct mail on behalf of Patrick, and the Massachusetts Republican Party has been mailing leaflets to targeted voters in support of Healey.

Separately, the SEIU local is backing Patrick with a radio spot, which costs about $100,000 per week to air in the state's major markets. Meghan Finegan, spokeswoman for the 12,000-member SEIU unit that represents healthcare workers, declined to elaborate on future spending plans to help Patrick or criticize Healey.

At the same time, the Republican Governors Association, which spent about $890,000 on television ads that lauded the Romney-Healey administration and criticized Patrick early this month, has gone off the air in Massachusetts.

``We've got 36 races; we're evaluating a lot of them around the country, and this is one of them," said Phil Musser, executive director of the association, which is chaired by Governor Mitt Romney. The RGA has not decided where to deploy its resources in the final three weeks of the campaign, Musser said.

Republicans are struggling to defend eight governorships now held by the GOP but in danger of falling to Democrats. ``But Kerry Healey is closing the gap, and that's the kind of thing you want to see as you enter the last 21 days," Musser said.

The RGA is one of two 527 political organizations engaged in the Massachusetts governor's race; they are called 527s for the section of the federal tax code under which they operate. The second group is the Patriot Majority Fund, which is funded by labor unions and the Democratic Governors Association, the RGA's counterpart. Under the law, the 527s may not coordinate with campaigns or other party entities and may not expressly advocate for the election or defeat of a candidate.

The Patriot Majority Fund, in a filing this week, disclosed the contributors who financed about $460,000 worth of ads last month that were harshly critical of Healey and part of what is expected to be up to $2 million spent on the governor's race. Dan Cence, a local spokesman for the group, declined to say when the fund will resume spending here. ``There are resources, and there are issues that are important to the people of Massachusetts that will be brought to the forefront," Cence said.

The report, covering the past three months, lists the following contributions: the Democratic Governors Association, which donated $230,000; Massachusetts Teachers Association, $250,000; SEIU Local 1199, $200,000; New England Carpenters Political Action Committee, $50,000; SEIU Local 509, $10,000; and the political committee of Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, $5,000. Richardson is the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.

Independent candidate Christy Mihos has suspended his advertising temporarily. He said he will return to the airwaves with new ads at the end of this week.

Mihos, who has spent about $1.3 million on television and radio since the primary, went off the air a week ago. ``We're going back up on Friday" with new spots, the independent said. ``I don't think you ever want to get in the way with anything creative or substance when the two traditional parties are whacking each other like this about things that are meaningless to what our problems are in the state," Mihos said.

The fourth gubernatorial candidate, Grace Ross of the Green-Rainbow Party, has not advertised in the race.