The airwave battles have begun in the three races for Austin City Council.

Not all candidates are up on the air -- but for those who can be seen on the small screen KVUE asked political media consultant Chuck McDonald to rate the ads.

McDonald said the effect of TV ads in a local race is minimal since only a small percentage of the audience reached by the commercials actually vote.

"You can have a great ad, and you can get beat pretty soundly if your opponent has a great organization and a great get out the vote effort," he said.

We played him ads in Place 1, 3 and 4 to see what he thought.

Jennifer Kim, Place 3 -- "Independence”

McDonald: "It's a very clever way to just acknowledge, hey, maybe I've made all these mistakes but it comes after all these people have given personal testimonies for her. It's probably the best way for her to handle her own race."

Randi Shade, Place 3

McDonald: "I think Randi Shade's ad is very effective because it introduces her, while reinforcing a negative about her opponent. I like the Shade ad the best."

Lee Leffingwell, Place 1 -- "Running"

McDonald: "It's a really positive message, the kind of message you can run when you're essentially unopposed. I like the Leffingwell spot. It shows he likes the environment, but he doesn't have to say it with cliches like some of the other ads... Good production value."

Cid Galindo, Place 1 -- "Green"

McDonald: "You have to have something more than just saying I like the environment. It seems like every council ad has to have some video of Town Lake. He says "green" about five times."

Laura Morrison, Place 4

McDonald: "All the ads are effective for Austin audiences. This is a quintissential "Austin" ad. But in the Galindo-Morrison race, the two don't do much to differentiate themselves from each other, and there are other candidates running. We all want clean air, clean water. How many times can you say you love the environment?"