Local pays for Obama attack ads

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Part-time Montecito billionaire Harold Simmons, who contributed millions in 2004 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacks on then-presidential candidate John Kerry, has reportedly spent $2.87 million on ads in Ohio and Pennsylvania that attack Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. Barack Obama, according to the blog Huffingtonpost.com.

The ads, which are described as “ominous-sounding” by the blog, apparently point out Obama’s relationship with William Ayers, an Illinois professor who once served on a charity’s board with the presidential nominee and hosted a fundraiser for him 13 years ago.
Ayers was co-founder of the group Weather Underground, which participated in a series of bombings in the late 1960s. According to the blog story, Obama said Ayers, “engaged in detestable acts 40-years ago, when I was eight years old.”
Simmons has a colorful past in Montecito. During a severe water shortage in the area in the late 1980s, the Montecito Water District levied a series of restrictions on water use.
While other Montecitan's adopted conservation practices, the water meter at Simmons’ sprawling estate continued to quickly spin, despite spending only 10 days a month at the home, the blog said. As a result, water district officials were forced to restrict the flow going into the man’s home and Simmons received a $25,000 fine.
According to the blog, Simmons wasn’t deterred by the restrictions, and along with paying to have water trucked onto the property, applied for permits to drill his own well.