Politics

Bobby McKenzie Blasts Dave Trott In Ad Called 'One of the Most Aggressive'

October 22, 2014, 11:21 AM by  Alan Stamm

Democratic congressional hopeful Bobby McKenzie hits opponent Dave Trott hard in a 30-second commercial two weeks before Election Day.

They're seeking an open seat in the 11th Congressional District,  which includes parts of Oakland and western Wayne counties.


Frame from Bobby McKenzie's new half-minute campaign commercial.

The vivid spot (below) calls the Republican lawyer a "foreclosure king" and blames him for a federal HUD action that left a 101-year-old Detroiter "run out of her home of 50 years and left on the streets." That woman, Texana Hollis, is shown with trembling hands in her wheelchair and in the teary close-up above.    

"Foreclosure king Dave Trott has made millions foreclosing on Michigan's families," an announcer says. "Trott profited from human misery as tens of thousands of Michiganders were thrown out of their homes. . . . Foreclosure king Trott -- he's caused too much misery to represent us in Congress." 

McKenzie's underdog strategy is to "attack Trott hard with one of the most aggressive ads you'll see anywhere," Washington Post blogger Sean Sullivan writes, adding:

The 30-second commercial, which is hitting the airwaves Wednesday, depicts an elderly black woman being forced out of her home as she cries.

Here's how Gongwer News Service in Lansing characterizes the spot:

Trott's legal career has been the focus of earlier ads and media coverage. In the New Republic last month, David Dayen wrote:

David Trott is facing a difficult obstacle: his past. Trott used to own the largest "foreclosure mill" law firm in Michigan, one that churned out hundreds of thousands of evictions after the housing bust. His firm made money off virtually every aspect of the foreclosure process. And the company used what adversaries describe as unscrupulous and potentially illegal tactics to ensure evictions, even when foreclosures were preventable." 

And a March attack ad by an independent political action committee, the Freedoms Defense Fund, used the same Texana Hollis example. The Center for Michigan's "Truth Squad" criticized that spot with a "flagrant foul" rating because "Trott did not, as the ad says, 'evict' Texana Hollis. That decision was made by HUD. His firm was one link in an unfortunate chain of events."


Read more:  The Washington Post


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