Donkey
Tails
By Maury Goodman
February 2006
For the "Warrenville
Today"
Newspaper
DuPage County Democratic
President’s Day Gala Sunday February 19
The Presidents’ Day Gala is the main annual fundraiser for the
Democratic Party of DuPage County. Tickets are $50 per person,
for dinner this Sunday at Drury Lane, Roosevelt Road at Route 83,
Oakbrook Terrace. This year we will honor the recipient of the
Distinguished Illinois Citizen Award, Illinois Comptroller Daniel W.
Hynes. If you wish to attend you may reserve a seat please
contact Beth Brownson at (630) 964-2703 or email
Bethbrownson@Comcast.net.
Winfield Township Candidates
Forum Monday February 27 7:00 pm in Warrenville
The WTDO is pleased to announce a Congressional Candidate Forum on
February 27th at 7:00 pm . This forum will provide an opportunity for
you to meet and hear the candidates running for Representative in
Congress in the 6th 13th and 14th Congressional Districts. It
will be held at the I.B.E.W. Local 701 building, 28600 Bella Vista
parkway in Warrenville.
Link to Map The forum
is being moderated by the League of Women Voters-Wheaton
The participants are: Christine Cegelis, Tanmmy Duckworth, Lindy Scott
(6th district) Billl Reedy, Joeseph Shannon (13th district) John
Laesch, Ruben Zamora (14th district)
A separate event is the Spring Bowling Fundraiser on March 18th at 7:30
pm. It will be at the Bowling Green Center where Winfield Township
Democrats meet. The cost is $35 per person, which includes 3 games of
bowling, shoe rental, and an appetizer buffet.
District 14 Congressional
Primary
Most of Warrenville is in Congressional District 14, and our
congressman is Republican Dennis Hastert. There will be two
Democrats on the ballot in March seeking the opportunity to run against
him. They are John Laesch and Ruben Zamora.
John
Laesch
John Laesch grew up in West Africa, his parents were missionaries
there. Driven by his desire to serve his country, John enlisted
in the United States Navy in 1995. In 1996, Laesch graduated from Great
Lakes Naval Training Center at the top of his class. Laesch
served as an intelligence analyst in Bahrain, monitoring terrorist
activity and analyzing foreign political and military structures. For
his outstanding service to our nation, John received numerous citations
and rose 5 ranks within 3 years. In his own words, “It is our
responsibility to our families and our fellow Americans to ensure that
our elected representatives share our civic duty, both to support our
great nation and question its leaders on decisions and actions that
conflict with our moral values. It is our responsibility to our
nation to ensure that American families are put first. For many
Americans, working hard at one full-time job is no longer enough to pay
the rent and feed their families. Access to a living wage, quality
health care, education, and a healthy environment should be enjoyed by
all Americans that work hard to support their families. It is not
solely a question of economics: it is a moral priority that all
hard-working Americans are provided access to the tools with which we
can build the American Dream.”
Ruben
Zamora
Ruben Zamora was born in Indiana, the son of migrant workers.
Ruben was raised in farm-provided housing, a vermin-infested, 2-bedroom
home with poorly maintained plumbing. In order to provide basic
necessities for the family, his mother and two older brothers worked
Florida’s gladiolus fields. But hard work and education were a
priority, so he graduated from North Central College with a degree in
Business Management, followed by an M.A. in education from Aurora
University. He was our candidate for congress in 2004, and most
people remember what a vibrant speaker he is. In his own words,
“Every individual has the right to safety at home, in the community and
in the world; to free speech and assembly; to civil liberties,
including the rights of trial by jury, effective counsel, and due
process of law; to privacy, including protection from unwanted invasion
or surveillance and unreasonable search and seizure; to vote and have
his or her vote count; to equal opportunity and protection, with
an end to discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion,
physical or developmental ability or sexual orientation; to economic
justice, including decent and safe work that pays a living wage and the
right to organize for better working standards; to security in
retirement, including guaranteed, inflation-proof Social Security; to
affordable and comprehensive health care; to an affordable quality
education at any age; to a clean and healthy environment where
pollution is no longer a threat; to full reproductive privacy; to a
foreign and military agenda that is responsible, achieves goals that
are shared by our global allies, and promotes international
cooperation; to a government that promotes freedom, democracy, justice,
and peace in domestic and world affairs.”
More on Early Voting
Early Voting, new in 2006, will be held at ten locations in DuPage
County from February 27th through March 16th for the March 21st
primary. In person absentee voting will be available March 17 and
18 at the same locations, and on Monday March 20th only at the Election
Commission office in Wheaton. The two nearest early voting sites
for Warrenville residents are the Winfield Township Office Board Room,
130 Arbor Avenue, West Chicago; M-F 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sat 9 a.m.-12
noon; and the Naperville Municpal Center, Meeting Room A; 400 S. Eagle
St. Naperville, M-F 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m.-12 noon.
Less Polling Places, Less
election judges
Based on the large use of early voting in other states, the DuPage
County Election Commission is consolidating polling places. There
will be consolidated voting stations for several precincts with one set
of election judges. I couldn’t find a current list on the
Election Commission website, but precincts 16, 24 and 34 will all vote
at the Courtyard Restaurant. We usually get a postcard with
precinct information, so expect change.
Senator Obama’s grammy award
Illinois Senator Barack Obama won a grammy award for his Random House
Audio recording, “DREAMS FROM MY FATHER” This was
written before his election to the Illinois Senate. It is his
memoir which looks at race from the point of view of someone who has
seen and been part of a variety of cultures, and he explains how his
perspective shaped his views. The audio is $17.13 when I checked
on
Amazon.com.
Feedback
It is welcomed and appreciated
maurygoodman@dupagedemocrats.org
