Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) has a problem. Her challenger, Navy veteran Joe Collins, has just come out with a brilliant campaign ad that reminds voters that their congresswoman doesn't even live in the district she's supposed to represent.
"Do you know where I am right now?" Collins asks in his ad, standing in front of a large home. "Maxine Waters's $6 million mansion. Do you know where I'm not? Yup, that's right. Maxine does not live in her district, but I do. I was born right here in south LA in the place Maxine refuses to live."
"Maxine Waters does not drink our water; she does not breathe our air. And while she sits here, in her mansion, our district is in ruins," he adds.
But Collins says he knows why Waters doesn't want to live in California’s 43rd District: she doesn't want to suffer the consequences of her own disastrous policies.
Do you know where I am?
— Joe E. Collins III For Congress CA-43 (@joecollins43rd) October 10, 2020
Maxine Waters’ $6 Million Mansion.
Do you know where I’m NOT?
Her District.
Mansion Maxine Waters doesn’t live in her District — I do.
My name is Joe Collins and I’m running for Congress against Maxine Waters.
Help Me WIN: https://t.co/K4OcfhUR0E pic.twitter.com/GgnmvSWSq9
In her 44 years in Congress, what exactly has Rep. Waters done for the district? Poverty and violence are still rampant, Collins explains. Los Angeles is in the top ten least safe cities in America to raise a family.
As he walks through his old neighborhood, Collins points to his childhood home and shares that he once survived a drive-by shooting and was constantly surrounded by gangs, drugs and violence. Not much has changed. And he says that although Rep. Waters left him behind, he won't do the same for today's generation.
His ad was so powerful that conservative actress Patricia Heaton had just one word for it.
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) October 11, 2020
Collins may have been inspired by congressional candidate Kimberly Klacik's viral campaign ad in Baltimore in which she walked through downtrodden city streets in red high heels demanding if Baltimore leaders care about Black lives.
"Let's retire Maxine Waters to her mansion," Collins concludes.