By Laura Bonawits, Contributing Writer

Apologies to our readers, this is another one that slipped by us on April Fools Day.

Allegheny County Council President Rich Fitzgerald, seeking the Democratic nomination for County Executive, launched the first television ad of the campaign Friday.

The ad, airing on the local television stations, features Fitzgerald’s eight children and highlights his work ethic, with his daughter saying he “drove a taxi to pay his way through Carnegie Mellon.” It also focuses on job creation, with Fitzgerald vowing to “keep our jobs and futures here.”

Fitzgerald’s campaign rides on his experience as a small business owner of 28 years and his leadership background as president of the Allegheny County Council since 2004.

It’s not a surprise to see Fitzgerald on TV – his opponent, Allegheny Controller Mark Faherty, has higher name ID and currently leads among likely Democratic voters by 8 points according to a Municipoll/PoliticsPA survey, and by 29 points according to an internal Flaherty campaign poll.

Additionally, Fitzgerald leads in the fundraising race. The campaign reported over a million dollars cash on hand a few weeks ago.

“Rich Fitzgerald is an experienced leader with a record of saving taxpayers’ money and creating jobs,” Fitzgerald’s campaign manager Mike Mikus said.  “As the first campaign to go on the air, we are confident that voters will embrace and respond to Rich’s plans to keep taxes low for our families and encourage business development in our region.”

County councilman Chuck McCullough and Mt. Lebanon commissioner D. Raja are contending for the GOP nomination.

Watch the ad here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPyDZ0z7JNA