All too often progressives miss out on key elections...the low turnout elections where there are no "big" races. Those low turnout elections may be ignored, but they are far, far from unimportant. They often involve school boards, judicial races, city council, port authority, etc. etc. etc. In other words, jobs that actually affect people every day.
These races are often decided under everyone's radar, but then we are surprised when a judge turns out bad, or a school board turns out creationist, or a local politician turns out corrupt. We can elect the good folks, the ones who actually affect people on a day to day basis. But ONLY if we, as Democrats and as progressives, pay attention to low turnout, seemingly unimpressive, races.
Right now we have some elections going on April 5th that are absolutely critical for working class Americans, our children and our every day lives. This diary is my attempt to get out the vote for some really, really good folks in races that are mostly being ignored. Help me spread the news on these key races which will determine whether unions can be effective, kids can learn proper science, and what kind of judge regular people may face in court if they wind up in trouble.
To start with Illinois: ILLINOIS FOCUS: APRIL 5th DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA ENDORSEMENTS
April 5th is an important local election in Illinois. This will be a low voter turnout election, so your vote REALLY counts. Here are endorsements and information from Democracy for America:
John Arena
Alderman 45th Ward
arenafor45.com
The 45th Ward has been represented by a machine politician for almost 25 years. Now is the time for DFA members to elect a progressive alderman who will fight for transparency and accountability in city government.
John Arena is that progressive. In his first campaign for office, John has put forth an aggressive campaign platform that would open up the political culture, develop local small businesses and reduce crime.
John's running a campaign fueled by people power, with volunteers going door-to-door, making phone calls and more. Join the people-powered campaign and help put it over the top today.
Here is Jjohn Arena's statement to DFA:
Background:
As a child, I moved with my family to Chicago’s suburbs from New Jersey. Since graduating from Northern Illinois University in 1990. I have lived on Chicago’s north and northwest side. My wife, Jill, and I run a small marketing and graphic design company. We are raising our two children in the Portage Park neighborhood. They are 15 and 10 years old.
Over the last decade, I have been active in numerous community organizations. I served three terms as communications director and two terms as Vice-President of the Portage Park Neighborhood Association. I have served on the Economic Restructuring and the Promotions Committee of the Six Corners Association. On a more personal note, I have coached my son’s Little League for seven years (winning the league championship this year) and been deeply involved in the parent-teacher organization for my daughter’s elementary school.
I have been volunteering on political campaigns for progressive political candidates for years and over the last several years I have worked for candidates endorsed by Northside DFA, including Joe Laiacona, Daniel Biss, Forrest Claypool and, of course, President Obama.
Goals:
My top goal is to bring responsive government to the 45th Ward. This ward has been run by a machine politician, Alderman Pat Levar, for the last 24 years. He has been unengaged with the community and it was difficult, if not impossible, to get him to move quickly on ward priorities. I originally entered the race to challenge him, but he recently announced that he was retiring.
I want to establish Neighborhood Advisory Boards to give residents a voice on crucial issues facing the ward, such as zoning and education. Chicago needs to be much more transparent regarding how it collects and spends tax monies and I will be a leader in that fight.
Chicago has been at the forefront of the movement to privatize city services. I am skeptical of privatization and flat out oppose any sort of privatizing of key resources like the city’s water supply.
In terms of the environment, the biggest challenge is shutting down two ancient coal power plants that operate on the near South Side of Chicago. I also support banning Styrofoam (No Foam Chicago) and implementing a city-wide recycling program.
I have watched aldermen like Joe Moore, Scott Waguspack and Bob Fioretti set a new tone on the city council and look forward to adding my voice to the call for transparency and acountability.
Issues:
My top three issues are opening up the local political culture, developing local small businesses, and reducing crime.
James Cappleman
Alderman
jamesforchange.com
When Gov. Howard Dean ran for president, he said that voting wasn't enough. He said people need to get more involved in the process -- they needed to contribute, volunteer and run for office themselves.
James Cappleman heard that message. He's a longtime DFA member. For years, he's worked with local DFA leaders to create change in Chicago as an activist and volunteer and now he's running for office himself.
James has been a citizen activist and he'll be a citizen legislator, working with his constituents to grow jobs, increase public safety and restore fiscal responsibility.
Here is James Cappleman's statement to DFA:
Background:
I've been a community activist my entire life, much of it focused on LGBTQ issues and health care. The University of Chicago Medical Center awarded me the Dr. Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award for my life's work as an advocate for others. I'm have worked as a clinical social worker in not-for-profit health care for over 2 decades, with much of my work focused on promoting family-centered care.
When I moved to the 46th Ward over a decade ago, I joined the Uptown Chicago Commission, a not-for-profit organization focused on improving the quality of life for area residents. I served 2 terms as board president, which allowed me to work with residents, social services, businesses, and elected officials on a number of quality of life issues. I am the only candidate who has ever been asked by the state senator and state representative to assist them with working on public safety issues.
In November 2010, Northside Democracy for America endorsed me because of my stance on reform, transparency, fiscal responsibility, and my commitment to involve residents in decisions that directly affect them.
Goals:
I'm running for 46th Ward Alderman because I want to continue my long history of community activism, but on a full-time basis. The 46th Ward is a very diverse community with a wide variety of values and beliefs. I have the skill to lead the community to focus on its shared values to help it move forward, especially in the areas of economic development, public safety, education, and political reform.
Issues:
Economic Development in the 46th Ward
Will create a Ward Master Plan and overlay it with a retail market survey. I'll use this information to work with the area's 2 chambers of commerce to attract needed businesses into the ward.
Public Safety
We have had an upsurge of gang violence in the 46th Ward, and have found that in a ward of 60,000 residents, there are around twenty residents who commit most of the acts of violence in the neighborhood. I will work with the county to strengthen the coordination of a drug court program that utilizes evidence-based, best practices to reduce recidivism. I will also work with the city's CAPS Program, which involves residents working with the police to address crime.
Fiscal Responsibility
Chicago is over $20 billion behind in the funding of its pensions, while the city's budget has doubled in the past 15 years. Tax Incremental Financing Districts (TIF) have been overused and are in real need of reform. I will work with other like-minded aldermen to call for a forensic audit to address duplication of services in the various city departments, and with other county and state programs. I'll also work to better coordinate the delivery of city services. I want to create a process so that before a TIF goes before City Council for a vote, City Council and the public are aware of the amount of campaign contributions given to the perspective alderman, along with the amount of funds going to large corporations that are directly benefiting from the TIF. To address pensions, I want to call for an actuarial analysis so that elected officials and the public can gain a better sense of the magnitude of the problem in order to create motivation to come up with real solutions to repair the City's pensions.
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE APRIL 5TH!!!!!!!
Now turning to WISCONSIN, ground zero for defending unions...
With right wing extremist Republican/teabaggers in Wisconsin trying to bust unions for the benefit of the Billionaire Koch Brothers of NYC, April 5's elections in Wisconsin are a prime opportunity for pro-union progressives to push back.
It is CRITICAL that every pro-union progressive voter in Wisconsin VOTE on April 5th. Here are the endorsements of local progressive and union organizations I could track down (mainly union and gay rights groups). I include links to some of the candidates' websites in the first set of endorsements (almost all the endorsements are the same, indicating a very close agreement between labor and gay rights organizations). Here they are:
SEIU Wisconsin State Council Announces Spring 2011 Endorsements
Chris Abele – Milwaukee County Executive (CRITICAL RACE...this was Scott Walker's old seat, so electing Abele would send a very clear message)
Ken Hall– Racine County Executive (Ken Hall has been supported by Progressive Majority since he first ran for office)
JoAnne Kloppenburg – State Supreme Court Justice (THE MOST CRITICAL RACE!!!)
Jason Haas – Milwaukee County Board District 14 (Another important race...Haas' opponent is a right wing extremist Teabagger)
Meagan Holman – Milwaukee School Board District 8 (EXCELLENT candidate...she has also been endorsed by various teachers' unions)
Joe Parisi – Dane County Executive
Eyon Biddle – Milwaukee County Supervisor District 10
Pedro Colón – Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Branch 18
Steve Doyle – Assembly District 94
Terry Falk – Milwaukee School Board At Large
Gerald Glazer – Milwaukee School Board District 2
Tom Nelson – Outagamie County Executive
Dave Cieslewicz – Madison Mayor (Website has a GREAT Union Solidarity photo!)
Milwaukee Area Labor Council AFL-CIO Endorsements: (via email)
o JoAnne Kloppenburg – Wisconsin Supreme Court
o Chris Abele – Milwaukee County Executive
o Pedro Colon – Milwaukee Circuit Court, Branch 18
o Eyon Biddle – Milwaukee County Supervisor, District 10
o Jason Haas – Milwaukee County Supervisor, District 14
o Terry Falk – School Board, At-Large
o Michael Bonds – School Board, District 3
o Meagan Holman – School Board, District 8
o Mark Sain – School Board, District 1
FAIR WISCONSIN PAC ENDORSEMENTS:
Fair Wisconsin PAC endorses candidates running for office who advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
COUNTY EXEC:
DANE: Joe Parisi
MILWAUKEE: Chris Abele
OUTAGAMIE: Thomas Nelson
COUNTY BOARD:
MILWAUKEE:
Eyon Biddle, District 10
Jason Haas, District 14
MAYOR:
GREEN BAY: Pat Evans
MADISON: Dave Cieslewicz
OSHKOSH: Tony Palmeri
STEVENS POINT: Mike Wiza
CITY COUNCIL:
BELOIT: Mark Spreitzer
JANESVILLE: Sam Liebert
LA CROSSE:
Bill Brockmiller, District 13
Marilyn Wigdahl, District 16
MADISON:
Fair Wisconsin PAC invited all candidates in all contested districts to seek an endorsement. Bold indicates that only one candidate in the district returned our questionnaire.
District 1: Lisa Subeck
District 2: Sam Stevenson
District 6: Marsha Rummel and Twink Jan-McMahon
District 7: Steve King and Nathan Judnic
District 8: Scott Resnick
District 10: Brian Solomon and Tom Farley
District 11: Chris Schmidt and Brandon White
District 13: Sue Ellingson
District 14: Anita Weier
District 20: Matt Phair
OSHKOSH: Jef Hall
JUDICIAL: Pedro Colon, Branch 18
ASSEMBLY SPECIAL ELECTION: Steve Doyle, AD 94
Equality Wisconsin
Vote for these LGBT Allies on April 5th
Supreme Court Justice: Joanne F. Kloppenburg
http://www.kloppenburgforjustice.com/
Milwaukee County Executive: Chris Abele
http://www.chrisabele.com/
Milwaukee County Supervisor, 10th District: Eyon Biddle
http://www.biddleformilwaukee.com/
Milwaukee County Supervisor, 14th District: Jason Haas
http://www.haasformilwaukee.com/
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge: Pedro Colon
http://www.judgepedrocolon.com/
Milwaukee Public School Board: Terry Falk, City Wide
http://www.falk4kids.com/
I.B.E.W. Local Union 890 Endorsements for the upcoming April 5th Elections
Beloit City Council: Mark Spreitzer
Beloit School Board: Ruben Rodriguez, Mike Ramsdail
Beloit Township: Tim Guenther
Town of Turtle: Roger Anclam
Janesville City Council: Russ Steeber, George Brunner, Sam Liebert, Deborah Dongarra Adams
Janesville School Board: Kevin Murray, Fred Shahlapour
Wisconsin Supreme Court: JoAnne Kloppenburg
VOTE APRIL 5TH!!!!
And while you are at it, Sign Republican Recall Petition At Polling Places April 5th. Once we win big on April 5th the next big push will be to recall the anti-union Republicans who broke the law to pass their union-busting bill.
BACK TO PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT NEWSLETTER MAIN PAGE
Finally, I want to highlight the work of a fellow Kossack covering Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin, including races I am not up on: (I show excerpts)
My Election Preview for tomorrow:
[WISCONSIN]
The all-important Wisconsin Supreme Court vote: Please vote for JoAnne Kloppenburg (D), because a vote for Walker buttkisser David Prosser (R) is a vote for Union-busting.
...
Next up: the St. Louis County Assessor's race: Jake Zimmerman (D) vs. Tea Party-backed Chip Wood (R)...
...
[Also in Missouri:] The Earnings Tax, aka Prop E:
Nothing is quite so anticlimactic as the municipal general elections held every second April in the city of St. Louis. Whatever political excitement exists tends to occur in the March Democratic primary.
This is particularly true in “off-year” elections, like this year’s, when the mayor and comptroller aren’t on the ballot. In 2007, the most recent off-year election, slightly less than 7 percent of the city’s registered voters bothered to turn out.
This year, the only citywide official on the April 5 ballot is Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, who faces only token opposition. Eight of the 14 aldermen (half of the 28-member board runs every two years) on this year’s ballot are running unopposed. School board races used to spice up April elections, but since the state took control of St. Louis Public Schools in 2007, school board races have been pro forma.
This profoundly destructive idea is the work of one man, retired financier Rex Sinquefield. He paid to get it on the statewide ballot last November and paid for the campaign that got it passed. He foisted his $11.7 million ego trip onto the people of St. Louis and Kansas City, the only Missouri cities that levy earnings taxes
Now, over to my home county, Madison County, Illinois--where the One Cent Sales Tax for Schools is up for vote.
Should buying gasoline, clothing and liquor in Madison County cost 1 percent more to help fund cash-strapped schools? Or is this just another unnecessary tax increase?
Those are the questions at the heart of a proposal being put to voters on the April 5 ballot. At stake is an additional fee tacked onto many retail purchases. The idea is to generate more money for public schools districts, which may reduce how much they rely on property taxes.
The Pros and Cons of the proposition:
Pro
As business manager for Triad schools, Ken Miller helps run a school district with an annual budget of more than $26 million. But even with that kind of budget, the district is in trouble. There's not enough money coming from the state, which has one of the worst budget gaps in Illinois history. Miller said 12-year-old Triad High School is a good example.
"The parking lot is huge; it needs major repairs and we don't have the money to do it," he said.
Many districts are in similar shape.
Miller said the sales tax solves the problem by providing more revenue. He's treasurer of a group, Citizens for Property Tax Relief, that estimates the additional fee would provide about $20.2 million annually, which would be divided among Madison County's 13 school district.
The money could only go toward building and maintenance or reducing property taxes. Most of the county's school districts have pledged to use at least 51 percent for tax relief.
Here is the other side of the coin: the Nay.
Con
Main points for those opposing the sales tax include harsh economic conditions, uncertainty in some districts that the money will be used for property tax relief, and the potential for voters to lose control over funding construction plans.
Two groups, Madison County Citizens Acting for a Responsible Education and Madison County Citizens for Sustainable Education, oppose the measure.
"We just do not need a tax hike. The economy doesn't need a tax hike," said Terrence Peterson, of Alton, treasurer of Madison County Citizens Acting for Responsible Eduction.
Coming to a conclusion, I support yes to the One Cent Sales Tax For Schools proposition.
Now, to the Granite City School Board:
For the 2-year seat: Matt Jones
For the 4-year seats: Carolyn Yates, Justin Wingerter, and Kevin Buchanan.
Six Mile Library District Trustee: I endorse Jonathan Ferry and Christopher Hutchings (my former Spanish teacher, although primarily an English teacher).
The specimen ballot for reference.
Even though I do NOT live in the Granite City limits, I do endorse the following people for Alderman:
Ward 1: Brenda Whitaker
Ward 2: Jack Jenkins and Walmer W. Schmidtke
Ward 3: Dan McDowell and Virgil Kambarian, Jr.
Ward 4: Jerry Webb
Ward 5: Deborah Smith and Don Thompson
Pontoon Beach:
Mayor: William Carlos White (I)
Village Clerk: Harlon D. Keel (Village Independence Party)
Village Trustee (4 year Term): Ronnie Burton (I), Russ Saltsgaver (VIP), Brad Eavenson (Open Government Party)
Village Trustee (unexpired 2-year term): Monte Hopke (OGP)
I hope that JGibson and I can help GOTV for tomorrow's election. If anyone else knows some good candidates/races/ballot measures coming up tomorrow, help us spread the word. Post here more info and we all can help blog about it.