The message on the television spot is simple: Motorists should be careful at railroad crossings. There are "quiet zones" in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, so the Rail Runner Express won't be blowing its horn.

But is this 30-second ad in reality blowing its horn for one particular candidate for lieutenant governor?

The man in the TV spot — which cost the state agency about $8,500 to produce and to buy air time for six weeks on cable television and one broadcast station — is Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments.

He's also seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

Rael, in an interview Friday, said the ads have nothing to do with his candidacy. "It's about safety," he said.

Rael said the ads began running before he formally declared his candidacy.

But pollster Brian Sanderoff of Research & Polling, Inc. said Friday that the best way for a candidate to build up name recognition is a 30-second television spot.

These ads in particular, Sanderoff said, will help Rael because it links his job to the Rail Runner, which, the pollster said, is a popular program. The Mid-Region Council of Governments is the lead agency in the implementation of the Rail Runner.

Sanderoff noted that many prominent New Mexico politicians have done public-service announcements. These include Gov. Bill Richardson, Land Commissioner Pat Lyons, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez, former Attorney General Patricia Madrid and former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron.

If the ad was only about safety, why was it necessary for him to personally appear in the spot? Rael said one reason was to save money. Some footage from previous spots in which he appeared was used.

Other Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor are Santa Fe Sheriff Greg Solano; state Sens. Linda Lopez, Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Tim Eichenberg; former state Democratic Party chairman Brian Colón; and state Rep. Jose Campos. Republican candidates for the job are Santa Fe physician J.R. Damron, former state Rep. Brian Moore and Bea Sheridan, a registered nurse.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.