He doesn’t officially have an opponent yet, but congressional candidate Rick Green has released a new ad showing him swimming across the Merrimack River – fully clothed — to demonstrate how bad traffic is in Lowell.
Green, a Republican from Pepperell, appears in the ad with his brother, Mike Green, who is co-owner with Rick of 1A Auto, a multimillion-dollar auto parts business.
The ad shows the two stuck in traffic approaching the Rourke Bridge in Lowell, with Mike behind the wheel and Rick in the passenger seat talking about how bad traffic is in the area. Then Rick bolts from the car, runs across a grassy field, and dives slow-motion and full extension – wearing khaki pants, a navy blue pullover shirt, and sneakers – into the Merrimack River.
He swims with crisp crawl strokes across the river, and then is shown standing on dry ground, dripping wet, talking into the camera:
“My name is Rick Green and I’m running for Congress. Our roads and bridges are supposed to speed traffic up, not slow it down. As a business owner, I know what it takes to plan, budget, and execute. When I get to Congress, I’ll make our infrastructure one of my top priorities. It’ll create jobs, grow the economy, all while improving public safety and the environment. Let’s get these roads and bridges fixed. It’s time.”
While Rick is swimming, the ad cuts back several times to Mike still stuck in traffic.
Then, near the end, the candidate says: “I’m Rick Green, and I approved this message.” A pause follows, where Green looks left and then right then left again, and says: “Anybody seen my brother?”
Green’s campaign manager, Dante Vitigliano, confirmed to New Boston Post that Green actually swam across the Merrimack River to make the ad. In fact, said Vitagliano, he did it twice.
“That was indeed Rick, yes. And yes he actually had to swim across — and back — because of traffic on the Rourke Bridge we could not get the camera crew on the other side,” Vitagliano said in an email message.
The car in the ad is a gray four-door 2006 Cadillac that Green bought used and has put 1A Auto parts into, Vitagliano said.
The campaign released the new 90-second ad online Wednesday morning. A 30-second version will air on television, according to the campaign.
Green is the Republican nominee for the Third Congressional District, which includes the cities of Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, Methuen, Fitchburg, and Marlborough; and the towns of Andover, Concord, and Hudson.
In the Democratic primary on Tuesday, September 4, Lori Trahan, a former chief of staff for former congressman Marty Meehan, appeared to win a close victory over Dan Koh, a former chief of staff for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.
But the Massachusetts Secretary of State, Bill Galvin, is overseeing a recount, amid reported problems with the vote count in the cities of Lowell and Lawrence. Galvin has said the recount must be completed by Monday, September 17 in order to allow time for general election ballots to be printed and mailed to overseas military personnel.
Whoever emerges on the Democratic side, the general election race will feature two candidates who have access to large sums.
As of campaign filings August 15, Green had raised $810,030.76, which includes a $170,000 loan from the candidate, and had $435,126.36 on hand, according to the Federal Elections Commission.
Trahan as of August 15 had raised $1,203,856.26, which includes a $100,000 loan from the candidate, and had $481,725.42 on hand, according to the federal elections agency.
