Final pitch: Fresh ads attack Del Duca, pump up Horwath

Plus: Another Grit drops off the ticket, activist arrested at Ford rally, NDP leaks

ABOVE THE FOLD

First in Queen’s Park Observer —AD WATCH: Parties are bringing out the big ad guns for the final campaign crunch.

We first told you about the PCs attack ads aimed at Liberal Leader STEVEN DEL DUCA and his swimming pool debacle, in which he failed to get the proper permits for his in-ground backyard pool that was built too close to protected conservation parkland. They’re now blasting over radio airwaves.

Tory insiders suggested to me that they didn’t need to the air the ad until later in the campaign because of all the controversy surrounding their Grit rivals’ candidates (more on that below). “They’re doing the work for us…it’s a self-own,” said one war room vet.

Meanwhile, the NDP is taking a more positive tack, pumping out a 30-second spot depicting Leader ANDREA HORWATH as the only choice to “finally fix what matters most: health care, seniors care, the housing crisis and the rising cost of living.”

Horwath is in front of a big crowd of supporters at a rally in Bra…