Friday, February 03, 2006
GOP Precinct Committeeman John Ryan Comments on District 300 Referendum
To say it is unusual for a Republican precinct committeeman in McHenry County to comment about referendum questions is something of an understatement. "Wouldn't want to anger a potential Republican voter" is the usual excuse.
That wasn't the approach my father or I took in 34 years as GOP precinct committeeman in Algonquin Township Precinct 7. We put out letters for every election. Often, we took stands. By the time the "powers that be" decided to oust me, with the help of Personal PAC, the primary election percentage turnout (for both parties) in the precinct was about 50%. When I was checking on the turnout of other precincts, only Nunda Township’s Charlie Nelson’s was competitive.
Now there is a precinct committeeman in Algonquin named John Ryan with the courage to write a constituent his thoughts on the upcoming Carpentersville District 300 referendums. And, he's willing to have it published. I first saw it on Harvard's Jim & Cathy Peschke's website, contacted Mr. Ryan and got permission to post it here.
Ryan's precinct is Algonquin Precinct 62, which is bordered roughly by Randall, County Line, Hanson & Harnish in Algonquin. His email address is CommitteemanRyan@AOL.com.
Here is Ryan's letter:
That wasn't the approach my father or I took in 34 years as GOP precinct committeeman in Algonquin Township Precinct 7. We put out letters for every election. Often, we took stands. By the time the "powers that be" decided to oust me, with the help of Personal PAC, the primary election percentage turnout (for both parties) in the precinct was about 50%. When I was checking on the turnout of other precincts, only Nunda Township’s Charlie Nelson’s was competitive.
Now there is a precinct committeeman in Algonquin named John Ryan with the courage to write a constituent his thoughts on the upcoming Carpentersville District 300 referendums. And, he's willing to have it published. I first saw it on Harvard's Jim & Cathy Peschke's website, contacted Mr. Ryan and got permission to post it here.
Ryan's precinct is Algonquin Precinct 62, which is bordered roughly by Randall, County Line, Hanson & Harnish in Algonquin. His email address is CommitteemanRyan@AOL.com.
Here is Ryan's letter:
The District 300 referendum is a passionate issue with emotions running high on both sides. Although, my views will support a “no” vote, my interest in getting involved is to simply provide transparency and clarity. The decision of how to vote is, of course, yours to make. State Senator (and Lt. Governor Candidate) Steven Rauschenberger (R-Elgin) said recently at a campaign forum in Huntley that today’s school districts “…are seemingly run for the benefit of the adults working within it.” What I have found thus far seems to support his view.For the rest of this well-thought out letter, click here.
My concerns with this referendum are twofold:1) In my view, District 300 has not provided what I consider a quality education for my children and has not demonstrated fiscal self-discipline. Simply throwing more money at a problem doesn’t solve it.
2) I suspect there is more to the Advance300 organization than what they would like you to believe.
