Come see me as I sit with the Scott Harper crew!

There won’t be any coffees this weekend, because I will be taking part in the largest grassroots campaign the Fifth District has ever seen… and that’s because it’s the largest grassroots campaign the 13th Congressional District has ever seen. It’s called 13 for the 13th. The Scott Harper campaign has gathered an army of volunteers to canvass the whole of the 13th Congressional District. The intent is to build awareness of his campaign as well as local candidates for state and county offices. I am very grateful to them for asking me to take part. Click on the link for information on how you can also take part in this historic event.

You may have noticed there hadn’t been an update last week about coffees this past weekend. Nor will there be any this weekend. This is because I’ll be attending two parades instead, and working on some future campaign events after the holiday celebration. Tonight I will be joining the Winfield Township Democrats as they march in the Warrenville Independence Day Parade! A few sections of Warrenville are within District 5, so it will be nice getting to meet voters. If you would like to join in, show up at Manning Avenue near Ray Street at 4:30, and look for Unit #61. The parade begins officially at 6:00.

And tomorrow, July the Fourth, I’ll be glad to join the Lisle Township Democrats as they march in the parade of Lisle’s “Eyes to the Skies” celebration. If you’d like to join in there, you can find directions here. Enter the staging area from Yackley, go east on Ohio, then look for the first left, Academy Drive. Line-up is at 2:50. The parade steps off at 3:30.

Some people might call it crazy, some might call it strange, some might call it ineffective, but it’s my plan to meet the voters of the 5th District over the next months of the campaign. The feeling I get is that people in general don’t like to have their door knocked or their phone called.

When we get into the fall months, and the election draws nearer, I’ll be doing precinct walking like every other candidate out there. But right now, I plan a less invasive, more personal approach. I will be holding forty meetings with voters at local coffeehouses and restaurants, two on each weekend, each at a different locale. Each week on Monday, I’ll announce the upcoming coffee dates for the next weekend on my website and mailing list, and their locations. Then I’ll head out to the appointed coffee shop, set up my little sign and literature, and talk to folks about the issues close to their hearts in this County Board race.

Anybody interested in coming out and meeting me at one of these coffees will be more than welcome to do so!

Here are the coffees for this upcoming weekend:

Saturday, June 21st, 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Caribou Coffee
1147 N Eola Rd # 101
Aurora, IL 60502

Sunday, June 22nd, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Borders Books & Music
336 S State Route 59
Naperville, IL 60540

All this week, Naperville Community Television will be airing a story about me on their “Naperville Connection” news program. “Naperville Connection” airs at 7:30 AM, 12:00 PM, 6:00 PM, and 9:00 PM. You can tune in to watch on Channel 17 in Naperville, or if you live outside the city, you can go to nctv17.com and watch the program streaming live to your computer. I want to thank Lindsey Theis and the folks at NCTV for the report!

In other news, Dianne McGuire, candidate for State Rep in the 96th District, is holding an open house at her new campaign office this Thursday night from 5 to 8 PM. Her office is in the Naper West Plaza on the corner of Route 59 and Aurora Avenue. FREE BARBECUE! To RSVP, contact Kate Refine at 630-579-6696 or email kate@diannemcguire.com.

The Tony 4 DuPage website has been expanded!

Recent Expansions:

- You can sign up for my email newsletter by clicking the link to the right.
- A “Links” page has been added at the right, which can lead you to the sites of other candidates and party organizations in the area.
- You can become part of my social network on either MySpace or Facebook, via the links at the right.
- You can now donate to my campaign online, through PayPal! Just visit the “Donate” page and click on the link. You’ll be able to keep track of the number of individual donors that have given to the campaign on that page, too, as well as how much money has been raised in total.
- A whole new “Platform” page has been added, so you can finally gauge my stances on the issues facing our County. If the bulleted list isn’t enough and you want to learn more about my opinions, all you have to do is click on the issue you’re interested in and read all about them!
- As always, be sure to check the “Press” page for new articles about my campaign, and the press releases I’ve given out.
- Keep up-to-date on upcoming campaign events through the “Events” page.

Tonight, the DuPage County Board will be meeting at 7:00 PM - a rare occurrence indeed. You are heartily invited to attend the Democratic press conference before the meeting, which will start at 6:00 PM. The conference will be held on the east side of the main County building, on the steps adjacent to the parking garage. I will be with many of the other Democratic candidates for County Board, and we’ll be giving our opinions and remarks on the County’s property taxes, as well as ideas about future government transparency. Send a clear signal to the Board that you’re interested in positive change by showing up and attending both the conference and the Board meeting! I look forward to seeing you.

This morning, I met with other Democratic candidates running for the County Board for a press conference on the steps of the County government complex in Wheaton. Although only one reporter showed up, I think we all made a good impression, and left the message we wanted to leave with him.

Democrats don’t run in DuPage County to be rabble-rousers, to poke a finger in the eye of the establishment, or to be a fly in the soup of the Republican Party. Democrats run because we believe in true and constructive change for the better in our government - at all levels. Personally, I feel that the caliber of the folks we’ve got running for the Board is a statement on the broad appeal the movement for change has become. We have an attorney and a real estate agent, we have a professor and a student, we have veterans and we have civil servants. The people running for the Board aren’t just going to diversify the partisan makeup of the Board, should they be elected. They will also diversify the ideological makeup of the Board, and its experiential makeup. Citizens of DuPage will benefit from the broad range of life experiences our candidates bring to the offices they will hold.

I’ll be sure to post a link to any articles that may arise from our press conference.

After all was said and done, we got some refreshment in the cafeteria inside the County building, then some of us went to the meeting of the Board. I got the impression, from watching the proceedings, that a lot of work must be done behind-the-scenes, or in committee, before it ever reaches the floor for an up-or-down vote. In today’s meeting, the vast majority of those votes were “up.” In fact, there was only one “nay” vote cast during the whole operation. It felt, to me, like a race. Chairman Schillerstrom and the Board were going through the motions of Robert’s Rules of Order in a rapid-fire manner, as if they all had something very pressing to get back to that they couldn’t afford the time on any sort of substantive discussion on the floor. Resolutions were lumped together into single votes, some were even waived from going through a first reading. It struck me like the functioning of a Rube Goldberg machine. Every part flawlessly meshed together to form a speedy and efficient whole, but in the end, I wasn’t really sure what had been accomplished.

Efficiency in government is a good thing, unless it reduces the actual service level of that government. If the Board was eager to get through its business and enjoy the breezy spring day outside, I could understand. The problem is… this is government. I would gladly sit through a two-hour deliberation on an appropriations bill if it meant that I was doing my job correctly. What’s more, the level of public interaction at the meeting was minimal. The Board allots a half-hour for citizens to speak. Three speakers rose to take advantage of this - the first was from Darien School District 61, and the other two were attorneys speaking in favor of a resolution. I’m not certain if these speakers came on their own volition, or if they were recruited by a member of the Board.

Personally, I know there’s a citizen out there who, if he or she knew what was going on, might have a thing or two to say about any number of the resolutions being pushed through. And I feel it would be my duty as their representative to have those opinions heard, either directly from them, or through me. The purpose of any meeting of the full Board should not be to rubber-stamp the decisions made in committee. The Chairman should wield a gavel, not an ink-blotter. Discussion should be held, negotiation should be made, consensus should be formed among the whole. It may not be as quick as the way it’s currently done, but it will ensure that the resolutions passed are on the books with the confidence of the electorate who formed the government to create them.

I’ll cut the Board some slack this time, but on May 27th, they will be holding an evening meeting - a rarity in itself. Perhaps then, with the day drawing to a close, they will be more relaxed and able to exercise the full breadth of their mandate. Or perhaps, with a larger public turnout, they will be more anxious to finish their business and adjourn. We’ll see.

From WurfWhile we get an excellent description of the upcoming Guy Maras fundraiser. Hiram also mentioned my appearance in the news. Cheers!

Lisle Twp Dems Fundraiser At Naperville City Club May 8th

Come join us - it will be a fun night and it’s for a great cause, supporting the (now majority party) Lisle Township Democrats! Contact me @ hiramwurf[at]gmail.com or 630.416.2198 for tickets or more information.

Lisle Township Regular Democratic Organization Guy Maras Celebration

Thursday, May 8, 2008

7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

At The City Club (Naperville)

1163 E Ogden Ave, Naperville, IL

Individual Tickets $35

Complimentary Drink Ticket for Beer/Wine and Excellent Hors d’oeuvres!

About Guy Maras

Under Guy’s leadership the LTRDO has grown from a minority party in the township with limited influence on elections to a majority party in 2008. As the LTRDO has grown it has provided winning majorities for Secretary of State Jesse White in 2002, U.S. Senator Barack Obama in 2004, and in 2006 majorities for Attorney General Lisa Madigan, State Comptroller Dan Hynes and Secretary of State Jesse White. Guy Maras is a Managing Partner at the legal firm Hennessy and Roach specializing in Workers’ Compensation. Among his other civic affiliations Guy is a Director of the Union League Club of Chicago and serves as Chairman of its Membership Committee.

Make A Bigger Democratic Impact With Greater Support!

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Sponsor $1,000 and more
Benefits
- Plaque at event recognizing sponsorship and other recognition at event and in event literature
- Choose your favorite hors d’oeuvre from The City Club - and we’ll serve it!
- Up to 30 tickets
- Plus all individual ticket benefits

Co-Chair (write or raise $350)
Benefits
- Recognition at event and in event literature
- Up to ten tickets
- Plus all individual ticket benefits

Friend of Guy Maras (write or raise $175)
Benefits
- Recognition at event and in event literature
- Up to five tickets
- Plus all individual ticket benefits

Individual Tickets ($35)
Benefits
- Attendance at a great event!
- One drink ticket for beer or wine
- Hors d’oeuvres

Many thanks to the folks at Progress Illinois for this mention! You can read the full article at the Lisle Sun website.

22-Year-Old Trying To Turn Dupage County Even Bluer

by Josh Kalven on April 25, 2008

A great story from the Lisle Sun today. Recent college graduate Tony Michelassi was so frustrated by the lack of a Democratic candidate in the race for the 5th District seat on the Dupage County Board that he decided to run himself:

The 22-year-old had graduated with an associate’s degree in political science from College of DuPage two months before the February primary. Although he started his college career as a rhetoric major at the University of Illinois, he had become increasingly interested in government administration.

So when he saw blank space after blank space on the ballot, he decided his name should go in the Democratic slot for the 5th District of the DuPage County Board, which includes Naperville and Lisle.

“I thought this would be a great way to get experience in the field, whether I win or not,” said Michelassi, of Aurora.

After consulting with his local precinct committeewoman, Michelassi began attending meetings of the DuPage County Democratic Party and was nominated to run for the seat in March, just before the filing deadline.

In November, he’ll compete with two Republicans - incumbent Jim Healy and attorney Gerry Cassioppi - for two of the District 5 seats on the 18-member board.

Go, Tony, go!

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