This morning Glenn Reynolds, spurred by Mickey Kaus at Slate, put in a good word for Tom Geoghagan’s bid for the 5th Illinois Congressional District’s open seat in the U. S. Congress, formerly held by present Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Since then I’ve seen a number of other Right Blogosphere bloggers echoing the semi-endorsement.
As somebody who’s lived in the district for nearly a quarter century, I tend to bristle at carpetbaggers, even digital ones. I think that Geoghagan’s a smart guy but I don’t he’s the right guy for the district. I think that present Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley is.
He’s got experience in elective office—he’s been a county commissioner for ten years and in a county the size of Cook, that’s a pretty big deal. He’s got a solid record of accomplishment and, importantly, has his head screwed on right about budgets. His web site is here.
He’s been endorsed by both the Chicago Tribune:
The race to replace White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in Congress has drawn nearly two dozen contenders, creating potential for a lot of voter confusion. Democrats will find a dozen candidates on the ballot for the March 3 primary. Heck, there are even spirited Republican and Green Party primaries in the solidly Democratic 5th Congressional District, which includes much of Chicago’s North and Northwest Sides and some adjacent suburbs.
Democratic voters will have no trouble finding a reliable Democrat—there are several who fit comfortably in the party.
We believe they will find one who believes in the party’s principles and has an outstanding record of independent, reform-minded performance in office. That is Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, who is endorsed today in the Democratic primary.
and the Sun-Times:
The Chicago Sun-Times endorses Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley for the Democratic primary on March 3, which in this heavily Democratic district is effectively the election.
So many politicians promise to be reformers, then deliver so little — or turn out to be outright crooks — that it has become a running joke on the public.
Look no further than the man who was once the congressman from the 5th District and now is our former governor, Rod Blagojevich.
Quigley, 50, is that rare candidate who promises reform — and delivers.
He’s the real deal.
He has proved himself at the County Board and deserves a shot at proving himself in Congress.
We’ve actually got a pretty good field of candidates to select from but with as large a field as we have to chose from there’s a good chance that the best candidate will lose in favor of the candidate with the most official support. That’s why it’s important not to dilute the prospective support for an experienced reform candidate and I, like our two newspapers, believe that Quigley is the real deal in that respect.
If you’re a registered voter in the district, please vote next Tuesday, March 3. That’s the primary and here in Chicago the primary is the election.
Interesting. Two bloggers I have great respect for and know personally and live in the district have come down on the side of opposite candidates in a party that neither of them, as far as I am aware, are part of.
I know neither Quigley nor Geoghagan but they sound like a win-win choice for Democratic primary voters. If only every race in Illinois were like that