Piccola ad defends record, slams Hirsh as 'political opportunist'

The campaign for state Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County) has launched a TV ad defending his record of reform in the face of recent criticisms by his Democratic opponent.

It's the first TV ad this campaign from the longtime senator and airs about a week after Democrat Judy Hirsh began running her first advertisement. Hirsh's ad accused the senator of stymieing reform while lining his own pockets.

That brought a sharp response from Piccola, who used his 30-second spot to call Hirsh a "political opportunist" and said "she is letting the Harrisburg insiders who brought you the legislative pay-raise run her sleazy campaign."

Hirsh's campaign, through a statement, has denied Piccola's accusations.

A person close to Piccola's campaign told PolitickerPA.com the ad's early arrival surprised the campaign and did force it to "defend Piccola's record" with the TV spot, which costs about $20,000 a week to run. But the source said the campaign did plan to run its first ad about this time.