AEA pulling ad attacking Marsh

Sen. Del Marsh

The Alabama Education Association will be pulling  television campaign ads against state Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, this week after the senator sent a letter of protest to medial outlets running the ad. In recent weeks, the AEA began running television ads, modeled loosely on the look of old Looney Tunes cartoons, that accuse Marsh of a number of ethical lapses — including a failure to report $5 million in personal property in his disclosures to the Alabama Ethics Commission.  The AEA has given $50,000 to Taylor Stewart, the Democrat running for Marsh's seat. AEA has also ramped up advertising against Marsh in the run-up to the June 3 primary, in which Marsh faces fellow Republican Steven Guede.  At the end of April, Guede reported the ads, as well as some administrative help from AEA, as $101,318 in non-monetary contributions. Earlier this week Guede reported another $17,410 in contributions from the group, most of it in the form of advertising. The AEA ads allege that Marsh voted for a loophole that "let his daughter's company receive millions from the state," and claim that Marsh didn't disclose millions in property on ethics forms.  The ads also allege that Marsh failed to disclose $5 million in personal investments.  Marsh has disputed all the claims in the ad. The "loophole" mentioned in the ad, he said, is a 2011 law that allowed the nonprofit Sarrell Dental Center to continue providing dental care to impoverished kids. Marsh's daughter is a lobbyist for the center, not its owner.  Marsh said that in his  opinion, what they do is throw this stuff up there, knowing that it's false, and hoping that the truth won't come out until after the election.  Marsh's attorney, Wells Robinson, faxed a letter to local TV stations urging them to drop the AEA ad on the grounds that the claim about Marsh's ethics disclosures was "false and defamatory." Marsh has provided a letter from Ethics Commission director Jim Sumner that Marsh said proves he didn't break state ethics laws. The letter states that "Based on your investment holdings and income as you have reported them to me, you have not failed to disclose your investments.”