New PAC’s radio ad bashes ‘Dishonest Diane Black’

A political action committee recently registered in Tennessee is running radio ads attacking “dishonest Diane Black” as a gubernatorial candidate, contending she “steered millions of dollars in no bid, state contracts to her husband’s company.”

The independent expenditure ad is sponsored by Tennessee Jobs Now, which was created by filing paperwork with the Registry of Election Finance on Dec. 15, according to the Registry website. It has not yet filed an initial disclosure statement and need not do so until later this month. The treasurer is listed as Maria Wojciechowski of Herndon, Va.

Maria Wojciechowski is also is also registered with the Federal Election Commission as treasurer of the Future45 Super PAC, which the Center for Responsive Politics says spent more than $24 million on ads attacking Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign. Media reports indicate the Future45 PAC (one is HERE) is substantially funded by billionaire TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and Las Vegas casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

Tennessee Jobs Now has a website HERE where the one-minute radio ad, which begins with the sound of a flushing toilet, can be downloaded. Script transcript as reported in Tennessee Star, which reports the ad is being run on “several” Tennessee stations:

WIFE: “Hey, what are you doing?”

HUSBAND: “Flushing our money down the toilet.”

WIFE: “I can see that. But why?”

HUSBAND: “Dishonest Diane Black is running for governor. I’d rather flush our money down the toilet than let her get her hands on it.”

WIFE: “Ok cut it out. Explain please.”

HUSBAND: “Well, a judge ruled while she was in the Tennessee State Senate, Diane Black steered millions of dollars in no bid, state contracts to her husband’s company.”

WIFE: “So basically she gave taxpayer money to herself.”

HUSBAND: “Yep.”

WIFE: “Ugh. Your toilet idea doesn’t seem so bad now.”

HUSBAND: “Yep. Rather than cleaning up the swamp in DC, Congresswoman Diane Black is part of it. She’s received over three million dollars from special interests in DC.”

WIFE: “What a hypocrite. We can’t afford dishonest Diane Black.”

ANNOUNCER: “Tennessee Jobs Now PAC paid for and is responsible for the content of this advertising. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. TNJobsNow.com.”

Note: In the 2010 Republican primary for the 6^th Congressional District seat, won by Black, one of her opponents, Lou Ann Zelenik, ran an ad attacking Black over state contracts with Aegis Sciences, a drug testing company founded  by her husband, David. Aegis filed a lawsuit against Zelenick over the claim, contending it was false and defamatory. That lawsuit was dismissed — text of the  Court of Appeals decision upholding the dismissal is HERE —  and Zelenick subsequently filed a counter lawsuit,, apparently still pending.