Amid the political season's hurricane of negative ads, one New Jersey radio commercial feels like a breath of fresh air.
It talks about family photos.
Lifetimes of treasured memories.
And how red-light cameras (!) make these charming mementoes possible.
This fuzzy-wuzzy ad is sponsored by National Coalition for Safer Roads, whose website acknowledges, in what used to be known as fine print, that it is "supported by American Traffic Solutions."
ATS is one of two vendors supplying the cameras – which critics call municipal cash cow/privatized law enforcement systems – to communities in New Jersey. The coalition ATS "supports" has a public relations arm that feeds the media spectacular crash videos, as well as reports about the benefits of its technology.
Maybe the razzle-dazzle websites of ATS, the coalition and its affiliate, "New Jersey Red Light Facts" are focusing on the Garden State due to recent problems with the devices, which are now back in action.
There's also Gov. Chris Christie, who seems lukewarm about the systems. And his fellow Republicans in the state Senate are gearing up a plan to ban the cams altogether.