The situation is much like a boxing match. In one corner is Austin mayoral candidate Brewster McCracken. The City of St. Louis, Mo., is in the other.
"There's a warning to cities all over the country from St. Louis' story," McCracken says in a new Internet commercial.
The advertisement, posted on his YouTube page, warns that Austin could follow the path of St. Louis if he's not elected.
"Entire sections of St. Louis' urban core have been abandoned for decades," McCracken says in the ad.
McCracken's campaign said the message is accurate.
"This video is a very accurate historic case study about what happens when a city doesn't seize opportunity," McCracken's campaign manager, Colin Rowan, said.
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McCracken Ad
News 8’s Reagan Hackleman shares what Austin voters have to say about the comparison advertisement.
 
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McCracken wasn't available to comment on this story, but his campaign manager was more than happy to explain the message behind the ad.
"The fact of the matter is they had to revitalize the city and Brewster doesn't want Austin's leaders in 20 years to have to revitalize Austin," Rowan said.
That may sound like a good spin, but some in the Gateway City aren't buying it.
A local TV station got a hold of the ad and decided to give it some air time.
"Makes me leery when people are beating up someone else," one St. Louis resident said.
Another resident said "absolutely not" when asked by the KMOV TV reporter if McCracken should be elected mayor of Austin.
"Clearly he doesn't know the first thing about St. Louis or the people that live here," a spokesperson for the mayor of St. Louis told the KMOV TV reporter.
So what do people in Austin think about the ad that has some in St. Louis furious with McCracken?
"We'll sometimes you have to have examples of the good and the bad. We're good and they're bad," Austin voter, Roger Lord, said.
Another resident said the comparison to St. Louis was unwarranted.
"I don't know why he chose St. Louis. I can see that being offensive to them," Michael Watson, said.
According to McCracken's people, it's not offensive.
"It doesn't say anything about the people who live in St. Louis -- we're talking about something that happened 100 years ago," Rowan said.
The boxing match known as Austin politics just crossed state lines, and now the City of St. Louis has entered the ring.
Check back for News 8 reporter Reagan Hackleman's complete story and video on this topic.
