Dee from the Desk: Let the ads begin

And let the ads begin… Republican Allan Fung is the first candidate to hit the airwaves with a television ad and a day later Democrat Gina Raimondo was also buying airtime.

Fung’s ad buy is centered on the premise “he turned around Cranston and now he can turn around Rhode Island,” a clear attempt by Fung to show that his experience as Mayor of Cranston will help him be the next governor. Meanwhile, Block supporters are pointing their fingers at the Cranston Police Department saying if Fung can’t manage his own police department how can he manage the state. Not to mention, some of the anti-Fung crowd credit former Mayor Steve Laffey with turning around the city, not Fung.

A television ad isn’t the only advertisement the Fung campaign has launched. The campaign has also sent an attack mailer to likely Republican Primary voters. The mailer depicts Ken Block and Barack Obama, noting that Republicans can’t trust Block because he voted for Obama. Block supporters are up in arms on social media saying this shows that the Fung Campaign is getting nervous.

Speaking of Block, he has had a pretty quiet week except for yesterday when he returned to the State House to call on the Senate to pass the “master lever” legislation. Block can push for the “master lever” until he is blue in the face but the chances of the Senate budging on this seem unlikely especially as we approach the final month of the session.

Meanwhile, the Democrats had a big night on Tuesday with a candidate showcase event. Raimondo took the opportunity to launch her new ad which centers around her father, who recently passed away. Raimondo, who was known as a tough as nails woman ready to make tough decisions for her work with pension reform, is now trying to soften her image. Notice she touts her life experience as a mother, is quick to exchange a recipe, and now she is inviting the public in to have a look at one of her most personal relationships; the one with her dad. Is this new side of Raimondo going to be enough to raise her likability factor or is she going to continue to be classified as cold hearted?

At that same event, Clay Pell took the opportunity to show off his linguistic abilities by introducing himself in Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese, during a planned speech. This in response to a recent blog that suggested that Pell’s resume has changed from saying he is fluent in the three languages to saying he has studied them. At the same time, being fluent and simply saying a rehearsed statement in a language are two different concepts. However, this was a clever retort from Pell. While many refer to Pell as slightly awkward a few times this campaign season Pell has had some witty moments. Showing a sense of humor is good for a candidate because it raises their likability factor and makes them more relatable to the public.

Finally, Angel Taveras had a big week as the city filed suit against Santander Bank for allegedly discriminating against the minority community by not making loans available. Taveras, the first Latino Mayor of Providence, is playing to his minority base, some of whom he lost during the Davey-Lopes Pool controversy. Filing a lawsuit to protect the community is a good way to make amends after things got a little heated last summer as Swim Empowerment Rhode Island made a splash placing the blame on Taveras for limiting minority access to a public pool.

Follow me on Twitter @deedequattro

 Dee DeQuattro is the assignment desk manager and digital news coordinator for ABC6. She studied politics and communications and holds a master’s degree from Providence College. Follow her on twitter @deedequattro and log on to ABC6 .com for her latest in depth coverage of politics and news.