West Orange Councilwoman Joyce Rudin is offering voters an AI-generated glimpse of what the township could look like under her leadership as she seeks to oust first-term Mayor Susan McCartney.
A new 50-second campaign ad uses apparent AI-generated images of West Orange with a whiteboard theme to illustrate Rudin’s proposals to revitalize downtown, including additional off-street parking and a new roundabout. One rendering depicts Rudin, as mayor, celebrating a grand opening.
Rudin provides most of the voiceover, criticizing McCartney’s record on downtown economic development and pointing to the recent closing of Walgreens. She argues that more off-street parking would make the downtown safer, more accessible, and more walkable.
“Downtown should be a place where businesses want to invest, residents want to spend time, and our community can take pride in its future,” Rudin said.
A former television reporter and member of the West Orange Open Space Commission, Rudin won a township council seat in 2024.
McCartney is seeking re-election in a crowded nonpartisan contest that also includes Board of Education President Brian Rock, Councilwoman Tammy Williams, Councilman Joseph Krakoviak, and Phil Orphanidis, a former chief of staff to Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.
The use of artificial intelligence in New Jersey political advertising is a relatively new phenomenon, but one likely to become increasingly widespread as the technology improves.
Earlier this year, the outside group Voice of the Electorate, known as VOTE, reported spending $41,000 on AI-generated digital and television ads supporting East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen in the 12th Congressional District Democratic primary.
Last year, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly)’s campaign for governor aired an ad featuring an AI-generated boxing match between Gottheimer and President Donald Trump. Republican Bill Spadea’s campaign also used AI to narrate quotations from his primary opponent, Jack Ciattarelli.
New Jersey lawmakers have proposed restrictions on the use of AI in political advertising, although proponents of regulation have largely focused on preventing deceptive deepfakes used to malign candidates rather than promotional images candidates use to portray themselves or their proposals.
Script: “I’m Councilwoman Joyce Rudin. Since Susan McCartney became mayor, our downtown has lost businesses. We can revitalize West Orange’s downtown by making it more walkable, safer, and accessible by adding off-street parking. As the town of invention, we can do better. Our Main Street should be a regional super-attractor for shopping, dining, and services. As mayor, I’ll work with a professional planner for realistic development, nurturing businesses that fit with the character of our town instead of closures. On Main Street, let’s have grand openings. Vote-by-mail ballots begin arriving on September 19. Early in-person voting at Turtle Back Zoo begins October 24. Please vote for me, Joyce Rudin, for mayor.”
The filing deadline for West Orange’s nonpartisan municipal election is August 20.