Assistant District Attorney Mindy Montford, who has her eye on Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle‘s office, is back on the campaign trail – or, at least, back on TV. With a basket-full of new campaign spots before her April 8 run-off against fellow ADA Rosemary Lehmberg, she’s setting out her new agenda: going after online pedophiles and future serial killers. Whether these are really the most important criminal justice issues facing Austin or not, it’s more obvious that Montford (or at least her media buyers) knows her audience: local foodies, soccer moms, and people who love To Catch a Predator.
In a brush with national greatness, her face popped up during a break in last night’s appearance by Uchi culinary maestro Tyson Cole on Iron Chef on the Food Network. The most surprising ad buy may have been on (hang on to your campaign finance reports) Nickelodeon. Seriously.
Talking to parents stuck watching Spongebob Squarepants with their kids, Montford warned about cyber-stalkers, and the department’s need for a cyber-crimes unit.
Then over on Animal Planet, midway through an episode of Animal Precinct, there was her TV spot called “Is cruelty to animals important to the people of Travis County?”. It’s not really about whether people from Central Texas like their pets or not (she could have run her “I have dogs” ad to do that, a spot so awkwardly twee that Kinky Friedman‘s campaign would have thought twice.) She talks about the inhumane maiming of a Dachshund, but that’s not really the point. “That’s indicative of future criminal behavior,” she adds (seemingly ignoring that animal cruelty is a Class A misdemeanor anyway).
This article appears in March 21 • 2008.
