By Natalka Karaman and Keegan Gibson

It’s another week of back-and-forth in the Allegheny Executive campaign. It’s hard to keep up with the attacks and counter-attacks – this week initiated by the latest TV ad in the race.

Democratic candidate Rich Fitzgerald released a new television commercial this week criticizing Raja in regards to his employment and outsourcing records. Keeping up with the “jobs, jobs, jobs” meme of the campaign, Fitzgerald calls Raja a “job destroyer.

Without naming India, Raja’s country of origin, the ad casts him as an outsider to Allegheny County (“Republican Raja keeps trashing us…” “…sends our jobs overseas…” etc).

It’s the second general election ad from the Fitzgerald camp, and the second negative ad of the race.

“It’s been one week since Raja refused to answer questions about his record on outsourcing and it’s time for him to come clean and tell the people of Allegheny County the truth.  Frankly, given his record of sending jobs overseas and treating the people who worked for him with contempt, Raja typifies all that is wrong with the greed driven culture that is squeezing the middle class.”

Raja’s team has retaliated, saying that Allegheny County has seen unemployment double under Fitzgerald’s run as County Council President and that he increased government spending by 48 percent. They also argue that Fitzgerald as County Council President presided over the highest tax in Allegheny County’s history – issues raised in Raja’s negative TV ad which aired earlier this week.

In response to the stinging criticisms about outsourcing, Raja counters by noting that 94 percent of the payroll at Raja’s company CEI is in the United States. They further maintain that Raja has created 300 jobs in the United States and over 100 in Allegheny County, which remains the home of the company’s headquarters.

Firing back, the Fitzgerald camp notes that Raja provides measurements of CEI’s workforce as a percentage of payroll – not necessarily the most reliable criterion given that workers in other countries – namely India – earn a relatively smaller wage compared to Americans. Why else, they ask, would CEI’s website make a case in favor of outsourcing?

“When successfully used, outsourcing creates a savings of both time and money,” CEI’s website reads. “This savings, when re-invested, can allow an organization to use more of its resources in the areas that are core to its business.”

James Genovese, Raja’s campaign manager said, “Rich Fitzgerald’s record as a tax and spend career politician is not what Allegheny County wants to vote for. Faced with slipping poll numbers and a struggling campaign Fitzgerald has resorted to personal character assassination and he should be ashamed.”

The ad also digs up information from 2002 U.S. Department of Labor reports, claiming that Raja’s company CEI was fined $133,480.19 for failing to pay its employees the minimum wage and for failing to pay overtime as required by law.

Raja Campaign Manager James Genovese said that CEI settled on the case, and that calling it a fine was inaccurate.

A look at the DOL report (courtesy of the Fitzgerald campaign) shows that the agency assessed several discrepancies in CEI’s payroll, totalling $133,480.19 which the company was to remit. To label the remittance a fine is perhaps a stretch of semantics.

Needless to say, it’s been a bumpy week in the Allegheny Exec race – fast becoming one of if not the top campaign in Pennsylvania in 2011.

Here’s the ad:

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