Gov. Neil Abercrombie has revived his yellow cab theme as shown in a frame grab from a television ad with him driving a taxi.
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Gov. Neil Abercrombie, caught up in an unexpectedly difficult Democratic primary against underdog state Sen. David Ige, has revived a populist image from his early days in Hawaii politics: the yellow Checker cab.
As a young Democrat with little campaign money, Abercrombie often tooled around in a big yellow cab that served as a symbol of his outsider status.
Now as the governor is up for re-election with a $4.7 million war chest, he has gone back behind the wheel of a cab in a new campaign advertisement that credits him for the state’s economic turnaround.
In the breezy television spot, which debuts Wednesday, Abercrombie picks up two women headed for Diamond Head. One of the women asks the other about new construction at Kapolei Elementary School and Halekauwila Place, and is told Abercrombie is responsible.
Asked about the fare, a beaming Abercrombie says, "Ladies, it’s on me."
"Neil wanted our TV spot to reflect what he’s hearing from voters, that Hawaii is better off today," Shane Peters, an Abercrombie campaign spokesman, said in a email. "The light-hearted feel and use of Neil’s old cab as a theme in this ad further emphasizes this point. It’s a symbol of his philosophy — service oriented, reliable and always there for you."