There are 34 days left until the Sept. 24 preliminary election and 76 days until the Nov. 5 final election.

City Councillor At-Large John Connolly highlighted his 2011 discovery of expired frozen food in Boston Public Schools when he ran for reelection that year, and the issue is resurfacing in his first television ad in the race to succeed Mayor Thomas Menino. The campaign said they plan to “run ads continuously until Election Day.” The ad’s content was first reported by the Boston Globe on Tuesday. The Connolly campaign did not respond to a Reporter request for comment on Monday when asked about the television ad.

The expired frozen food issue has also cropped up in glossy campaign literature recently sent to voters: “As Chair of the City Council’s Education Committee, John cast the only vote against a contract that gave our children one of the shortest school days in urban America,” the literature says. “And when he got a tip about expired food being served in our schools, John opened the freezers himself to uncover the truth.”

The ad is below:

-- City Councillor Rob Consalvo is making another run at getting his fellow contenders to sign onto his version of the “People’s Pledge,” a bid to keep outside and independent spending groups out of the race. “I think we still have time to do it today,” Consalvo, who first proposed the pledge in April, told reporters in a Tuesday conference call. (Consalvo’s new radio ad also highlights the pledge.)

Consalvo said Stand For Children’s plans to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Connolly means they are coming in with “both guns blazing” in an attempt to influence the race.

Hours later, Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley, reportedly one of several candidates Stand for Children considered endorsing before ultimately going with Connoly, put out a statement saying that he will sign onto the pledge through the preliminary and the general election if the other finisher joins him. “I call on John Connolly and all candidates to sign the pledge as well,” he added.

Conley added: “In accepting their assistance, John is buying into an opaque political shell game that denies voters the simple right to know who is participating in their own election. It's wrong, and John knows it's wrong.”

City Councillor Michael Ross’s campaign is seeking to fundraise off of the news of Stand for Children’s spending plans. “If we can raise $15,000 in grassroots donors by midnight Saturday, we'll send a strong message: We don't need special interest money when we've got people on our side,” campaign manager Cayce McCabe said in an email to supporters on Tuesday morning.

For their part, Stand For Children issued a press release expressing support for Connolly. The release did not include any details about their spending plans.

“As a Boston schoolteacher and resident, I am proud to support John Connolly for mayor of Boston,” Stand for Children member Peter Lorinser, a schoolteacher, said in a statement. “John Connolly has demonstrated time and time again that he is not afraid to stand up for our kids. John Connolly is the courageous leader who will transform Boston Public Schools to provide all children with the excellent education they deserve.”

-- The Dropkick Murphys are holding a Sept. 5 fundraiser at Florian Hall for state Rep. Marty Walsh. The band’s bassist announced his backing in April. Comedian Steve Sweeney is also listed a special celebrity guest at the fundraiser. (h/t Paul McMorrow of CommonWealth magazine)

-- John Barros's mayoral campaign has hired Wilnelia Rivera as deputy campaign manager. She previously served as Gov. Deval Patrick's director of external relations.