While Republican Scott Milne has promised his campaign against U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy will be low-budget, his face is on TV as part of a nearly $20,000 purchase of airtime Milne’s company made recently.
Milne Travel spent $19,850 to place 114 spots on WCAX through the end of August, according to a contract filed with the Federal Communications Commission.
The ads make no mention of politics but rather feature the travel company.
Nick Hasenecz, the general sales manager at WCAX, said the ads were not considered political by the station but had to be disclosed under FCC rules because of Milne’s candidacy. Ads that didn’t feature the candidate himself wouldn’t be disclosed, Hasenecz said Thursday.
No Milne ad contracts were found for other local TV stations.
One of the spots focuses on “Travel Volunteers,” a new program that allows participants to log community service hours on the Milne Travel website in exchange for prizes.
In the ad, Milne introduces himself and speaks about the spirit of community service held by his parents, who founded the agency.
“Everybody wins when we’re volunteering in our communities,” Milne says in the spot. “Please join us.”
In the FCC report filed by WCAX, the Milne ads are coded as “Travel Agents/Services.” Yet because Milne himself is in the ad, the contract is reported under the political section of the station’s FCC page.
Milne said the ads served no political role, adding that he would likely not run any official campaign ads during the election.
“We are running a low-budget campaign,” he said Thursday. “If people step up and give money then we will run ads. If not, that will be less likely.”
He added, “I’m not going to spend 20 hours a week calling people for money.”
So far, Milne’s campaign has largely focused on the gulf in resources between the two Senate candidates. Leahy has more than $3 million available to spend, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
Milne boasts a campaign account holding $83.
Milne said he is hoping to get access to voters through debates, and he challenged Leahy to four televised debates in a news release Wednesday.
