Seeing Double

A few days ago, one of my neighbors gave me a flier for my opponent that was left at her door. It was the first time I've seen any of his campaign material. I thought it looked familiar so I searched through my home office to find a strikingly similar flier for another Republican County Board candidate. In fact, the layout and text on the front side are exactly the same, except for the candidate name and photo. I scanned both fliers so you can see for yourself. You can click on the image for a larger version.

The fliers were paid for by the County Board Republican Election Committee. The opposite side includes biographical information about each candidate. At least that part is unique. The biographical text for Tim Moore is very similar to the text found on the official Sangamon County website, but with a few additions.

I'm an active Democrat who has worked on a number of campaigns, but I would never let a party leader tell me what issues to address on my campaign material. I've written all of my campaign literature myself. The Democratic Party has never appointed me to any public office, and I have received no campaign contributions form the local party organization. I believe we need more County Board members who will speak with an independent voice.

To be fair, these are not the only two County Board candidates with cookie cutter fliers from the Republican Party. My opponent doesn't deserve any more criticism for this than the others. Tim Moore is a good man who has taken my criticisms graciously. I will continue to critique county government while avoiding personal insults.

I'm pointing out the fliers to illustrate that the incumbent has allowed himself to become one part of a system that desperately needs to be changed. I don't believe we need a County Board that is dominated by one party with 25 out of 29 members who are all reading from the same page (or flier).

Soon, I'll write my thoughts about the subject of the fliers and how the County Board has been raising the tax cap every year.