Political Action Couple
We were at their office only yesterday, but already tonight I had a voice-mail from the local alderman candidate's campaign coordinator. Get out the vote activities every night this week, would Jason and I like to join?
Jason had found a postcard on his windshield inviting us to watch the Bears game on Sunday with Jim Ginderske, candidate for alderman of our little ward. I'll confess that much of our motivation was that our current alderman (the Chicago equivalent of a city councilman for you Philadelphia and C'bus readers) is a national laughing stock, "national" as in covered by the Wall Street Journal! He's most well known for sponsoring Chicago's ban on foie gras. It would certainly be nice if our neighborhood could support retail and restaurants that might first consider serving foie gras before we pursue banning it. He's also led the fight against bringing Wal-Mart and Target to Chicago. Yes, he has a reasonable logic here: requiring the big box companies to pay a reasonable wage to their workers. However, it was revealed that his staff drives up to Evanston, outside of Chicago, to buy their office supplies from big box store, OfficeMax. Like many others. Here's the WSJ quote, "It turns out that the wage bill's chief sponsor, Alderman Joe Moore, shops at suburban big-box retail stores, for the usual reason. His campaign committee has purchased $30,589 worth of supplies at big-box retailers outside the city, according to disclosure forms. Alderman Moore isn't alone out there with a cart among the high stacks. A review of Illinois State Board of Elections disclosure forms finds that the 35 aldermen who voted to stick it to the 'big box' retailers have spent $114,000 patronizing these non-Chicago stores."
Ironically though, our new candidate's website intro points out that he is not here to just run against someone, he's there to run for something. Poetic. He drew Jason's attention since he's a member of the IBEW, and Jason's from a big electrician family (father, brother, grandfather etc. etc...)
I must say it is nice to consider being involved in a campaign where the candidate sits down and chats with you, alternately about the Bears offense and then about the rumors of extending Lake Shore Drive further north. (Not going to happen.) Obviously I was more interested in the latter.
Ed Rendell claimed to know me when Uncle Paul shook his hand at a little meet-and-greet during his gubernatorial campaign. I think I met Ed about three times, but at least one of those times I got the picture to prove it. Ann Richards is on my right. (May she rest in piece. Only death has kept that spunky Texan down.)
Post-Script: This is my 101st post. Wow, I'm old.
Jason had found a postcard on his windshield inviting us to watch the Bears game on Sunday with Jim Ginderske, candidate for alderman of our little ward. I'll confess that much of our motivation was that our current alderman (the Chicago equivalent of a city councilman for you Philadelphia and C'bus readers) is a national laughing stock, "national" as in covered by the Wall Street Journal! He's most well known for sponsoring Chicago's ban on foie gras. It would certainly be nice if our neighborhood could support retail and restaurants that might first consider serving foie gras before we pursue banning it. He's also led the fight against bringing Wal-Mart and Target to Chicago. Yes, he has a reasonable logic here: requiring the big box companies to pay a reasonable wage to their workers. However, it was revealed that his staff drives up to Evanston, outside of Chicago, to buy their office supplies from big box store, OfficeMax. Like many others. Here's the WSJ quote, "It turns out that the wage bill's chief sponsor, Alderman Joe Moore, shops at suburban big-box retail stores, for the usual reason. His campaign committee has purchased $30,589 worth of supplies at big-box retailers outside the city, according to disclosure forms. Alderman Moore isn't alone out there with a cart among the high stacks. A review of Illinois State Board of Elections disclosure forms finds that the 35 aldermen who voted to stick it to the 'big box' retailers have spent $114,000 patronizing these non-Chicago stores."
Ironically though, our new candidate's website intro points out that he is not here to just run against someone, he's there to run for something. Poetic. He drew Jason's attention since he's a member of the IBEW, and Jason's from a big electrician family (father, brother, grandfather etc. etc...)
I must say it is nice to consider being involved in a campaign where the candidate sits down and chats with you, alternately about the Bears offense and then about the rumors of extending Lake Shore Drive further north. (Not going to happen.) Obviously I was more interested in the latter.
Ed Rendell claimed to know me when Uncle Paul shook his hand at a little meet-and-greet during his gubernatorial campaign. I think I met Ed about three times, but at least one of those times I got the picture to prove it. Ann Richards is on my right. (May she rest in piece. Only death has kept that spunky Texan down.)
Post-Script: This is my 101st post. Wow, I'm old.
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