Warning up front -- this is a request for small-dollar donations...
If you think the 50 State Strategy is important and you believe in challenging every race, please help! Recommend this diary to keep it up. Send some turkee in, even five bucks will help.
Here's the situation: A guy I know from the ol' Dean for America meetup days is challenging one of our local Illinois township Dem committeemen (actually, this particular committee"man" is a woman who has been in the office for over 2 decades with little organization or Dem base to show for it).
For those of you in the Chicago area, this is Kent Kirkwood (challenger) against Joan Brennan (incumbent) in Elk Grove Township. Kent is a bit of an upstart who is frustrated at a do-nothing committeeman...
Kirk needs our help... more on the other side.
Using some legal tactics, Kent has actually whittled away at several of Joan's signatures on her nominating petitions. Turns out several of the signatures were from folks who were either not registered voters or had some other issues preventing them from being legal petitioners. Arcane and perhaps opportunistic, yes, but for a committeeman who hasn't done much since first being elected in 1978 it's telling that she did the bare minimum to get on the ballot itself.
Well, Kirk's to a point now where he's going to incur some costs (relatively minor, but enough that he doesn't have the cash on hand) in order to continue his challenge through the legal process.
For the 50 State Strategy to work progressives need to be active in every jurisdiction and every race. This is a chance to replace a do-nothing with a fellow who wants to actually do something (and already has been doing plenty) to help the progressive cause.
The local Pioneer Press gives this description of the commiteeman position in a recent story about Joan and Kent:
Longtime Democratic leader's role challenged
BY PATRICK CORCORAN
Elk Grove Times
January 12, 2006
As local party leader, the party committeeman supports campaigns for all elected posts -- from township assessor to U.S. president. The committeeman mobilizes volunteers, directs local fund-raising efforts and organizes precinct captains.
Here is Joan in her own words from the 2004 election season:
Are Dems heating up or going for cool dip?
BY PATRICK CORCORAN
Elk Grove Times
June 17, 2004
"Right now [in June 2004] people have things other than politics on their mind and don't need to use up their time sitting in meetings," she said. "It's summertime, people are looking forward to vacation. Right now I am thinking about going for a swim. 'For everything a season,'" she said.
Brennan said the presidential election process, although it is about four months away, is still in its infancy and people aren't ready to make voting decisions.
"June is not the time to be doing this. The campaigns have to get going. Right now it's a hissing match. Is industry going to improve? Will they find Osama Bin Laden? What is the market going to do? We don't know yet," she said.
"I've got a life. We're not supposed to be sitting around trying to think of ways to hurt someone else. Once the convention is over, we might be looking at a whole new ballgame "
(FYI, in June of 2004 I was helping prepare yard signs, brochures, mailers, etc.... Illinois had had its primary by then and we all knew who the candidates were. I'm sure you guys can also all remember what you were doing the summer before the election)
(FYI part 2, this township had one of the lowest 2004 Dem vote totals in the surrounding area. Even with not-quite-yet Sen Obama kicking butt across the state, Elk Grove Twp sagged.)
ACTION
At the moment, Kirk is hoping to follow through with his challenge but he's at a point where he needs some financial help. He's done the legwork already to circulate petitions in the cold of winter and get his paperwork filed properly and on time. I've attended some of the Democracy Club meetings that are run by him and others and his heart's in the right place.
His estimated legal bill for pursuing the challenge will be $1300 but he already has raised about a third of that and has just under $900 left to go before Monday morning.
Can you help by sending a donation to help Kirk? Five, ten or even twenty bucks will be a great help if we all chip in together.
Please email him directly at rkkirkwood@comcast.net and he'll send you instructions on what info he needs from you (to follow election finance regs) and how you can help. (You have to be 18 and a US citizen, that much I know.)
* - Full disclosures: I don't live in this district but I'm nearby. I've met Kent but can't say I know him like my brother. And, I asked for his permission to write this diary to help him and he agreed. (He didn't have any say in what I wrote here though.)