MONTGOMERY — General Ed Crowell (Ret.) on Monday released the first video ad in his campaign to be Montgomery’s next mayor.
In the ad, Crowell highlights his desire to fix Montgomery’s education crisis and reduce crime in Alabama’s capital city. The video specifically mentions that he will push for increasing teacher pay and prioritize workforce development training, along with putting more police officers on the street and emphasizing “community and neighborhood policing.”
The theme of the ad is Crowell’s military record and his passion for service.
“General Ed Crowell’s service took him all over the world, but his heart was always in Montgomery,” the ad begins. “And now, he’s running for mayor.”
Watch:
In a statement announcing the video’s release, Crowell said, “It’s time to come together and work to make Montgomery the best city it can possibly be. Our community deserves someone who is going to lead—and that person is me. I’m ready to serve. My career as an Air Force General has taught me that we must fight for what we believe in, and I believe in Montgomery. So, I’m going to fight for it.”
“I’m committed to Montgomery,” he added. “As Mayor I’m going to fight every day for what makes our city great: the people. I will host the most transparent and accountable administration our city has ever had. We will work every day to make our city better than the day before. I look forward to earning every vote I receive on August 27th.”
The video release came the same day that Yellowhammer News was told by sources familiar that Crowell’s campaign is confident in their internal polling, especially related to their message testing and Crowell’s biography performance.
A survey conducted a few weeks ago by Montgomery’s John Anzalone, one of the nation’s preeminent pollsters, showed that 31% of respondents were “very likely” to vote for Crowell after hearing his biography, while a whopping 75% were “somewhat likely.”
However, Crowell definitely has work yet to do to bring his base polling number up to match his biography’s appeal.
His campaign hopes ads like this first one will help accomplish this as the August 27 mayoral election draws near.
If no candidate gets over 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held.
Polling has widely shown Montgomery County Probate Judge Steven Reed leading the field, however his numbers have not really improved since the beginning of his campaign, leading many observers to believe the right candidate in a hypothetical runoff could beat him.
In addition to Crowell and Reed, the competitive mayoral field includes former Congressman Artur Davis, popular Montgomery attorney JC Love, local FOX-affiliate WCOV owner David Woods and Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean.
RELATED: Gen. Ed Crowell wants to bring military, leadership experience to Montgomery mayor’s office
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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