I've written a bit about
Democratic Congressional candidate John Pavich in
IL-11 before; I intend to keep this series going until the election.
The incumbent in the 11th is Republican Jerry Weller, who was swept into office in the 1994 Republican tidal wave, pledging at the time to only serve 6 terms. He has not served with distinction, the district is trending Democratic, and Weller's term limit is up. This is a race we can win.
Today's post will be a brief introduction to John: his biography, his stands on the issues, and his campaign. Click to read more...
John Pavich grew up in the Southern suburbs of Chicago. His education and early professional experience speak to a deep interest in international affairs: after getting a degree in international and Russian area studies and spending time teaching in Lithuania, John went to law school, after which he worked at the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) located in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Subsequently, in the wake of 9/11, John joined the CIA to work as a counter terrorism officer. As you might imagine, several years of that convinced him that there were more effective ways to serve his country than working in this administration. Thus was born his Congressional run.
John has consistently impressed me as a thoughtful, pragmatic progressive. The 11th is Illinois's biggest union district, and John will be a strong voice for working families. By contrast, Jerry Weller has consistently voted against the interests of working people. For just one example, Weller voted for CAFTA, which John opposes.
I've been consistently impressed by John's ability to balance the need to forge consensus with an absolute commitment to core principles. He has no illusions that this will be easy, or that he can win by launching a strident left-wing attack on the Bush administration. John is a moderate Democrat, and only a moderate Democrat could win this race. At the same time, when I first met with him, he told me that he absolutely opposed amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage. In fact, he said that if the people of the district need a representative who supported such an amendment, then he shouldn't be their Congressman. John isn't going to shift his positions or pander, and that honesty and commitment comes through when he's in front of an audience.
Like any campaign at this stage, John's is focusing heavily on fundraising these days. Things are going well on that front: the campaign recently passed the $250,000 mark! December and January have been very successful, and with the recent addition of a new professional fundraiser, things should only improve. That said, the campaign could always use your help. Another strong showing this quarter will turn a lot of heads and help John get national support.
The campaign is firing on other cylinders as well. Rep. Weller's hometown Morris Daily Herald has covered John very favorably. Moreover, papers throughout the district as well as elsewhere in the Chicago area have begun to write about Weller's ties to the numerous scandals engulfing the Republican Congress (that's the topic of another diary on another day).
The field operation is also getting under way. The first fully functional campaign office has opened in Crete, staffed by several full-time volunteers. Over a hundred volunteers have already taken action, knocking on doors, making phone calls, gathering signatures, and maintaining the office. There will be lots more opportunities throughout the year, starting next weekend: please drop me a line (daniel [at] math.uchicago.edu) if you're at all interested in helping!
So that's my thumbnail sketch on John and this campaign. For various reasons, the blogosphere has focused heavily on the race to replace Henry Hyde out in IL-06. That's an extremely worthy cause, but I just wanted to make sure that everyone out there knows that in the Chicago suburbs we have another pickup opportunity, in a district that looks at least as favorable as the 6th, with another great candidate. Please consider donating or volunteering!
