MTM Chicago’s 2010 Political Endorsements

Written by MTM Chicago Tuesday, 26 January 2010 01:32

(1 vote, average 5.00 out of 5)

Democrat Primary Races (Statewide)

U.S. Senator Race

MTM Chicago is endorsing Jacob Meister for U.S. Senator. Out of the four candidates vying for the nomination for the Democratic Party, Meister is the most qualified and well-rounded candidates. We are not endorsing him because he is the first openly gay candidate to run for the U.S. Senate in Illinois. We are endorsing him because we feel he will be the one to bring change to Washington. To find out more about Where Jacob Meister stands on key issues go to http://www.meisterforsenate.com/20-20-vision

Governor of Illinois

This one was a no brainer, MTM Chicago is endorsing Dan Hynes. Many used to be fans of Pat Quinn until he became Governor of Illinois and lacked leadership when we needed it. Illinois had ten years of corruption in the Governor’s Mansion before Quinn came in. Instead of trying to clean up Illinois, Quinn bickered with his predecessor and nothing was accomplished except for falling deeper into debt. MTM believes Dan Hynes has a background of integrity and honesty. This is something Illinois needs. Hynes, will not raise taxes on the middle class ($200,000 and up), is the only pro-gay marriage candidate, pro-choice and Hynes believes that the current ethics reforms are a start, and would take more steps to end pay to play politics by limiting the influence of major donors.

Lieutenant Governor

Scott Lee Cohen

Attorney General

Uncontested Race

Incumbent Lisa Madigan

Secretary of State

Uncontested Race

Incumbent Jesse White

Comptroller

David E. Miller

Treasurer

Robin Kelly

Democrat Primary Races (Cook County)

Cook County Board President

MTM chooses not to endorse any candidate in the race for Cook County President. This was a difficult conclusion to reach, but we don't see any candidate as having expressed a real desire to address insipid Cook County government corruption. We would like to believe that one of the candidates will lower the sales tax and expose Cook County's corrupt underbelly. Three of the candidates say they'll do just that -- Brown, O’Brien and Preckwinkle.

Cook County Assessor

Raymond Figueroa

Cook County Clerk

Uncontested Race

Incumbent David Orr

Cook County Sheriff

Thomas Dart

Cook County Treasurer

Uncontested Race

Incumbent Maria Pappas

Water Reclamation District

You are allowed to vote for three candidates. MTM is endorsing one, Todd Connor

U.S. Congress Races

5th Congressional District

Uncontested Race

Incumbent Mike Quigley

8th Congressional District

Uncontested Race

Incumbent Melissa Bean

9th Congressional District

Uncontested

Congresswoman Jan Shakowsky

On a side note MTM is disappointed that Jan Shakowsky decided to align herself with Congressman Danny Davis and Bobby Rush who are both anti gay.

10th Congressional District

Julie Hamos

Illinois State Senate Races

7th Senate District

This is a hotly contested race. You have a gay friendly candidate in Heather Steans and an openly gay candidate in Jim Madigan. They are both highly qualified to be a State Senator in Illinois, both have impressive resumes, both will serve their district well. With all that being said MTM would like to say thank you to Heather Steans for all her work but we feel Jim Madigan will better represent the 7th and the gay community.

Illinois State Representative Races

5th Representative District

David Schroeder

11th Representative District

Ed Mullen

12th Representative District

Uncontested Race

Incumbent Sara Feigenholtz

13th Representative District

Uncontested Race

Incumbent Gregory Harris

40th Representative District

This race has incumbent Deb Mell running against Joe Laiacona. Both candidates are openly gay. MTM is not endorsing either candidate in this race.

On a side note: 2010 is a year of the openly gay/lesbian candidates. There are eleven to be exact, Greg Harris, Deb Mell, David Schroeder, Ed Mullen, Jim Madigan, Jacob Meister, Todd Connor, Sebastian Patti, Linda Pauel, Joanne Fehn and Joe Laiacona.

MTM Chicago will not be endorsing many Republican candidates in the 2010 primary races. It is not because we do not like Republicans, it is because there are very few running this year that support what we believe. At one time in Illinois the Republican Party was moderate. Around 2000 the conservatives hijacked the party in Illinois. In 2002 Judy Baar Topinka was the only Republican to win a state office for her party. That was because she was a moderate. You would have thought the Illinois Republican Party would have figured that out but it is obvious they have not.

Republican Primary Races (Statewide)

U.S. Senator Race

MTM Chicago is endorsing Mark Kirk. Kirk has always been a friend of the GLBT community. If he wins the Republican Primary (big upset if he doesn’t), I am interested in seeing if he will stick to his record and his views on the GLBT community or if becomes John McCain and panders to the conservatives.

Governor of Illinois

MTM is not endorsing any of the candidates at this time.

Lieutenant Governor

Not endorsing anyone at this time

Attorney General

Not endorsing anyone at this time

Secretary of State

Not endorsing anyone at this time

Comptroller

Judy Baar Topinka. The Center on Halsted would not have been there without the help of then Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka. If it wasn’t for her running mate in 2006, she might have or most likely have won the race for Governor over Blagojevich.

Treasurer

Dan Rutherford