In Case You Missed It: KOB calls Dinelli attack ad "a pretty far stretch from reality"; Albuquerque

Journal poll shows Dinelli trailing ALBUQUERQUE, NM Pete Dinelli, Albuquerque's risky choice for mayor, is off to a very bad week after his nonsensical attack ad was called "a pretty far stretch from reality" by veteran political reporter Stu Dyson on Friday evening, only to be followed up by a poll in Sunday's Albuquerque Journal that showed him trailing by more than 40 points. "Pete Dinelli's campaign is about tearing down the city and launching false attacks against Mayor Berry. But the people of Albuquerque won't take the bait because they cannot trust Pete Dinelli and his risky record," campaign spokesman Chris Sanchez said. "Now with his attack ad proven false and trailing far behind in the polls, we fully expect Pete Dinelli and his special-interest group allies to continue launching desperate and false attacks against Mayor Berry that are 'a pretty far stretch from reality.' While he continues to tear down the city, we will keep the debate focused on the issues and Pete Dinelli's risky record." On Friday, KOB's Stuart Dyson fact-checked Dinelli's ad and found that the entire crux of his ad is FALSE. TV AD: "Berry refuses to raise the minimum wage even though we voted to increase it." DYSON: Fact: Voters did raise the minimum wage last year - Berry had no power to stop it. TV AD: "Berry's anti-choice measure threatens women's health." DYSON: Fact: The late term abortion ban is not Berry's proposal ... You can watch the KOB-TV video here: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3151933.shtml?cat=500 Then on Sunday, an Albuquerque Journal poll showed Mayor Richard Berry in good shape to avoid a runoff, with a commanding lead over his opponents. The poll showed Berry leading with a broad and diverse group of voters including Democrats and Hispanics. The numbers are expected to tighten in the coming weeks as special-interest groups come to Pete Dinelli's aid by attacking Berry with negative and misleading ads. Link to story: http://www.abqjournal.com/259605/news/berry-has-big-lead-runoff-is-looking-unlikely.html Highlights from the Albuquerque Journal Poll -Mayor Berry has support of 63 percent of Albuquerque voters; Dinelli has 18 percent, and Paul Heh has 2 percent. -Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff says Berry appears to be on his way to avoiding a runoff. -Sanderoff openly questions Pete Dinelli's strategy. -Berry draws support across party lines, pulling in 41 percent of Democrats, compared with Dinelli who had 34 percent. Berry also leads with Republicans and Independents by a wide margin. -Berry pulls in 54 percent of Hispanics ###