Former California Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg has unveiled his first television commercial in the March 8 Los Angeles mayor's race—so be prepared for him to be called Hertzilla.

The images in the commercial are of a giant Gulliver-sized Hertzberg walking around in a Lilliputian-sized Los Angeles—the explanation being that the candidate "doesn't tiptoe" around problems

In the commercial which went on the air today (Feb. 1), the Democrat describes the Los Angeles Unified School District as a failure and calls for it to be broken up into smaller pieces.

He says road repair ought never be done during rush hours—but instead should be scheduled at night when the impact on traffic is less.

In a barb at incumbent James Hahn, Hertzberg also says if you can't synchronize the traffic lights, you don't deserve to be mayor.                  —Donald H. Harrison