Our government is founded on the concept of transparency. It works best with power that flows from the voters up; not when politicians decide what they want, and then attempt to push it through a committee. Last summer, our City Council faced an ethical crisis, a failure of leadership. We had a situation where the whole concept of integrity, of transparency, of open discourse was lacking from our city government. The leadership at the top had compromised itself to the point where a DuPage County State’s attorney issued an opinion that placed our former Mayor in legal jeopardy.
During that tumultuous time, I was the lone voice on the City Council to speak up and publicly say “dual duty is wrong,” “this is not what we in Elmhurst want.” And not only did I say it was wrong; more importantly, I pressed the issue. I not only pressed the issue on the Finance Committee, but I stood with thousands of Elmhurst voters who signed petitions for a right to vote; to outlaw this unethical practice. And this unethical practice was subsequently outlawed by an overwhelming 77% of Elmhurst citizens.
During that time, most of my colleagues held their opinions to themselves; or they made statements like “I am waiting to hear from the attorneys.” In my opinion, this was far more than a legal matter on which the lawyers might posture. Dual elected office duty was not just an ethical issue; it was a fundamental democratic issue. It was an issue that went to the core of the civics lessons we all learned in high school. If transparency means anything for an elected representative, it means an elected official should speak publicly on the basic question of the propriety of a politician holding two different elected offices with two different constituencies. My question for Elmhurst voters is this: Do you want an Independent Mayor who speaks his mind on relevant issues?
Some say this is old news; I disagree. I believe that open and honest government is never old news. Elmhurst needs leaders that are transparent; leaders that air their views publicly; leaders that are willing to take a stand. Local government is supposed to be non-partisan. It is supposed to be based on the concept of citizen volunteers, not smooth politicians. We simply cannot afford to operate like the State of Illinois does; its leaders in the majority are dysfunctional and the state is broke! That is why I have been forthright in bringing my views on issues to the voters. Elmhurst needs a leader that is independent, a leader that does not just pay lip service to the concept of transparency. Elmhurst citizens deserve a leader that respects and embraces open and honest government. I am such a leader.
www.mulliner4mayor.com
I'm going to look to see what the three mayor candidates have registered as the last years. I already know Morley is an officer with the York Township Republican Committee. I don't know whether the other two have such a tight relationship with the national political parties. elle
Also, if you think the York Township party organizations have "tight relationships" with the national parties, you obviously know very little about politics.
Steve Morley has given to the York Township Republican committee in 2012 which can be verified at the Illinois State Board of Elections andMArk Mulliner throws stones at Dems in this article.
I did not mean to offend you. I am new to this politics stuff. What I meant was in a local election I do not think the larger party structure should be part of the local campaign so the quote "Local government is supposed to be non-partisan. It is supposed to be based on the concept of citizen volunteers, not smooth politicians" makes sense to me and sounds thoughtful. I do not suggest that a candidate (for any office) never ever voted before. elle
Another interesting question is: How much difference does it make anyway in terms of the positions the candidate will take once in office? Undoubtedly it makes some difference since Ds and Rs have different philosophies of government, although at the local level you can make a case that the differences are less pronounced than at the national level. (Who ever thought Democrat Rahm Emanuel would take on the teachers' union or that Illinois Republican Party chairman Pat Brady would be advocating for gay marriage?)
What a pleasant surprise to have a cogent, lucid response to my comments here on the Patch, we could use a few more like you. I don't disagree with you that things are a hot mess down in Springfield. Many people to blame for the mess I suppose.Maybe a souped-up version of Social Security like the Railroad Retirement Board might be a way to fix the mess. As for my parsing every little word you might think I have an agenda and you would be right, it is thinly veiled, I imagine you can figure it out, but probably not a lot of the low information voters out there will. Happy Friday V.O.R. and welcome to the fray.
If more common sense was in the budget; many dollars and cents could be save. Good Luck in your research
candidate for 5th ward Alderman