LOCAL STATION REJECTS ATTACK AD

A Cape Girardeau television station questions the accuracy of a political ad it ran. The 30-second ad has sparked controversy in the U.S. Senate race in Illinois.

KFVS-TV, Channel 12, on Tuesday rejected the ad against Peter Fitzgerald after Fitzgerald campaign officials accused Democrats of distorting the GOP candidate's voting record on the issue of concealed weapons.

Democrats deny the charges.

Fitzgerald, a state senator, is seeking to unseat the Democratic incumbent, U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun.

The 30-second spot was paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

A spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington said Thursday that the whole issue was moot since the television ad wasn't scheduled to run past last Sunday.

Andy Howes, press secretary for the committee, said Fitzgerald's campaign waited until the ad had nearly run its course before asking stations not to air it.

Lawyers for Fitzgerald's campaign on Friday faxed letters to TV stations asking that they pull the ad.

Howes said the Democratic campaign organization paid $300,000 to run the ad on TV stations.

Howes said KFVS waited a few days for documentation from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee before airing the ad. The ad ran on Channel 12 for about a week and a half, Howes said.

KFVS station manager Howard Meagle didn't return repeated telephone calls to his office Thursday seeking his comment.

But Fitzgerald's campaign released a copy of a letter from KFVS' national sales manager, David Stockard.

The two-sentence letter, dated Tuesday, said: "We have reviewed your documentation and agree that there is a legitimate question as to the accuracy of the DSCC advertisement relating to Peter Fitzgerald's position on firearms. The station will not be running the ad."

Under Federal Communications Commission rules, stations must run political ads from candidates, but have discretion over ads placed by organizations that are operated independently of the candidates.

Officials with the Fitzgerald campaign have criticized what they view as an attack ad that ran on TV stations across Illinois and along the state's borders.

The ad states that Fitzgerald, as a state senator from Inverness, voted for a bill to allow people to carry concealed weapons "in the mall, on the playground, anywhere they choose."

The ad urges Illinois residents to call Fitzgerald. "Tell him to drop his plan," the ad states.

John Mcgovern, Fitzgerald campaign spokesman, attacked the ad.

"The ad is not only a distortion. It is also blatantly false," he said.

Fitzgerald voted for a concealed weapons bill in 1995, but he didn't sponsor the measure. The bill never became law.

The bill would have "exempted a very small class of citizens" from the ban on concealed weapons, McGovern said.

It would have required Illinois residents to undergo up to 50 hours of state police training and undergo extensive criminal background checks before being issued permits to carry concealed weapons.

The exemption wouldn't have extended to a number of public places, including schools. It wouldn't have applied to cities such as Chicago, which have ordinances banning concealed weapons, McGovern said.

But both Howes and a spokesman for Moseley-Braun's campaign said the TV ad was truthful.

Patrick Hannan, a spokesman for the Moseley-Braun campaign, said Fitzgerald was trying to draw attention away from his support of "hidden handguns."

Hannan said the ad makes references to concealed weapons on playgrounds, not schools. He said there are many playgrounds in Illinois that aren't situated on school grounds.

Hannan said Fitzgerald's position on concealed weapons puts him at odds with a majority of Illinois residents.

He said one major poll showed 70 percent of respondents opposed lifting a ban on concealed weapons.

Hannan said Moseley-Braun's campaign didn't run the ad, but that the ad seemed "wholly truthful."

McGovern, with Fitzgerald's campaign, said KFVS was the first to respond to the request to pull the ad.

Hannan said as far as he knows KFVS was the only station that responded.

Said Hannan, "They got one station to buy into it."