Thoughts on the debate - Partisanship Edition

I also wanted to followup on Mr. Sundquist's comments on partisanship.

I am proud to be the chair of the Winnebago County Democratic Party. It turns out the Paul might not be as proud of his association with the Winnebago GOP.

If you look at their Newsletters - he has advertised in many of them:

November 2005 - October 2004 - August 2004 - March 2004

Why is it he is embarrassed to be a Republican? After I mentioned this in the debate, he leaned over and told me that he asked the Winnebago Republicans to stop running the add.

I really don't think that they would run an advertisement without permission, do you? If you look at the issues - it is just him and Ben Ganther. It is not like they were lost in all the adds.

Well, unlike Mr. Sundquist, I am proud of my party. I am proud of what I stand for.

But, I can understand why Paul would want to deny that he is a Republican... Have you seen their ratings lately?

But, more importantly, what does the partisanship say about the race itself?

I believe that it gives insight into what the candidates will do on the board. As Mr. Sundquist said in a recent presentation before the Winnebago County Board, "tourists bring their dollars and not their social problems."

I am, however, interested in social problems. Most of what the county board deals with in it's budget is related to 'social problems.'

According to the original budget proposed by Mr. Harris, the following areas had budgets of:

Public Safety - $16,356,404
Health and Human Services - $23,378,615

I would consider these areas that address 'social problems' - for a total of $39,735,019 in spending.

This is 64% of the total budget, and 79% of the budget without debt service. This is what I want to work on first and foremost.

As a Democrat, I want to find a way to properly fund Winnebago County's commitments to victims of domestic violence, to the elderly, the disabled and the working poor lacking in health insurance. All programs that faced cuts in the last budget.

I believe the people of the 17th district deserve a county board member who is interested in these subjects for the betterment of the entire county.

This race is not partisan, but it is easy to see how the partisanship shapes the interests of the candidates.