McHenry County Blog

David McSweeney

Exhibit A in the case that Precinct Committeemen can make a difference for the candidates they endorse is Fox River Grove’s Andrew Gasser. Turnout was up substantially.

The high space expert (see Tea Party in Space) was elected Republican Precinct Committeeman in Fox River Grove.

Compare the results in Gasser’s Algonquin Township Precinct 4 with the countywide results:

• Gaffney – 35 vs. 35% in McHenry County
• McSweeney – 34% vs. 40% in McHenry County
• Rowe – 31% vs 25% in McHenry County

Now Gasser has strongly endorsed McSweeney over expected Independent candidate Dee Beaubien.

“At the time of this post I cannot find an official website for Mrs. Beaubien, but this is what I do know: Mrs. Beaubien is not a conservative like Mr. McSweeney.

“There have been several blog posts about Mrs. Beaubien that are quite revealing about who she really is and what she really stands for.”

Gasser thinks this article on McHenry County Blog is significant.

He adds,

“When you have allies of President Obama supporting a candidate, that is a giant red flag for me personally.

“We simply cannot have weak conservatives in Springfield.

Joe Walsh and Andrew Gasser after Walsh's audition to be the Scott Walker of Illinois.

“It is my humble opinion that Mrs. Beaubien does not represent our values here in our 4th precinct in Algonquin Township, or Fox River Grove.”

Gasser has another article about the State Convention. I like the part about “the star of the convention,” Joe Walsh. It says, “…perhaps Congressman Bobby Schilling said it best, ‘What, I have to follow Joe?’”

He describes Walsh’s 2010 victory over Melissa Bean:

“It is important to note that Congressman Joe Walsh was elected to congress without ANY help from the national or state Republican organizations.

“He defeated Melissa Bean utilizing the Illinois Tea Party grassroots organization and conservatives who were just sick and tired of Bean.”

At the state convention, Party Chairman Pat Brady admitted that Walsh received no party help in his introduction of Walsh. Walsh got a standing ovation as he entered.

Danielle Rowe has written a memo on how Illinois residents can help with the Scott Walker recall campaign.

Scott Walker spoke at Family PAC's Cruise last August.

Here it is:

CALL TO ACTION
WISCONSIN RECALL ELECTION

IL Tea Party
Wisconsin Recall, Coordinator
Danielle Rowe
847-773-7693
rowe@DanielleforIL.com

Easy online sign-up at: www.myscottspot.org

Offline: Bubble sheets available

June 5th is the Recall election.

NOTE: Our calls and block walks in Racine County (a swing district the Democrat’s are targeting) will also focus on Lt. Rebecca Kleefisch www.rebeccaforreal.com. She will have a vigorous fight on her hands against a Union Boss named Mahlon Mitchell. More details here The Democrats are also targeting Senator Van Wangggaard to hurt Scott Walker. If Wanggaard loses, Walker and the Republicans lose their majority in the Senate. http://vanwanggaard.com

How to Help: Big Push thru JUNE 5TH. This weekend SUPER SATURDAY ALERT. RACINE VICTORY CENTER

ACTION: ONLINE CALLS NOW THROUGH JUNE 5TH www.myscottspot.org

ACTION: RACINE VICTORY CENTER CALLS NOW THROUGH JUNE 5. 6211 Durand Ave Racine WI 53406

ACTION: RACINE VICTORY CENTER CANVAS FOR GOV. WALKER AND SENATOR VAN WANGGAARD

ACTION: POLL WATCHER; JUNE 5 IL Residents are able to be a Poll Watcher in WI.

CANVASSERS ARE MEETING UP AT 9AM – MOVE OUT NO LATER THAN 10AM. WALK UNTIL 12:30PM /
LUNCH (PROVIDED)

AND/OR: 1:30PM – WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH PACKET OR IT GETS DARK.

CALLS ONLINE AND AT VICTORY CENTERS ARE BEING DONE MONDAY – SATURDAY 9AM – 9PM, SUNDAY
NOON – 9PM

WARREN TOWNSHIP is hosting a Call Center Monday – Thursday 6pm – 8pm in Gurnee IL. Please contact Mike at 847-710-9996. They have targeted bubble sheets to work from provided by the Wisconsin Recall Leadership.

Please consider joining Family-PAC for the June 2 Walkers for Walker in Wisconsin. Details on the attached flier and sign-up form: note the May 29 deadline for sign-up and refundable $20 deposit. We are starting the bus at Wheaton College at 7:30 a.m. on 6/2. Then a stop at Providence Baptist College in Elgin at 8:15 a.m., and the last stop at Gurnee Mills Mall in Lake County at 9:15 a.m. We will arrive in Racine at
approximately 10:15 a.m. Lunch will be provided to you and we will leave Racine at 4:30 p.m. Family-PAC will provide refreshments and a Walker T-shirt on the bus. The number of seats on the bus is limited so it is very important that you reserve a seat now. We will be walking door to door in pairs with a Wisconsin based volunteer in key precincts, so bring comfortable clothes and walking shoes. We request a $20 refundable deposit to secure your reservation, made payable to Family-PAC, and we will return your deposit when you get on the bus. Please send deposit and this application to Family-PAC by May 29, 2012 (Tuesday). The Family-PAC coordinator for this trip will be Jon Zahm. You can reach him with any questions at (630) 946-8683 or e-mail jon@thegoliathslayer.com. Please spread the word – families welcome (children 16 and above). Please note: I am supporting this effort due to Family PAC working directly with the Wisconsin Republican Recall Leadership.

"Reclaim Wisconsin, Recall Walker," urges this yard sign.

Recall elections are coming up Tuesday in Wisconsin for Governor Scott Walker, his Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and Republican State Senator Van Wanggaard, who represents Racine County and the deciding vote in the State Senate.

These two yard signs appear to be lit at night. They say, "Stand with Walker."

Republicans, of course, are trying to keep Wanggaard in office so the Democrats don’t take control of that body in Madison.

United Wisconsin has a sign saying, "Recall Walker."

Danielle Rowe is recruiting people to go to Racine to help encourage Republicans to vote between now and when the polls close on Saturday.

This sign says. "Walker for Sportsmen."

And, if you don’t have time to go in person, there are lists that could be provided so you could make phone calls from home.

You can make phone calls from home now through the primary election by signing up at myscottspot.org.

Milwaukee seeks to be the Democratic Party's candidate to oppose Republican Scott Walker. He is Milwaukee's Mayor.

Scott Walker spoke to those who took the Family PAC Cruise last summer.

An email from former State Rep. candidate Danielle Rowe:

You do not need to wait until November to make an impact in an election that is critically important to the direction of our country.

What happens in the Wisconsin recall primary this Tuesday, May 8 and the recall election on June 5 will affect every state in the nation, including Illinois.

Rep. Paul Ryan has called this recall election the second most important election in the country in 2012, and he’s right.

I am honored to have been named the Illinois Tea Party Wisconsin Recall Election Coordinator.

The Illinois Tea Party fully supports Governor Scott Walker and Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and their brave reforms that have helped move Wisconsin in the right direction.

They grew Wisconsin’s economy, created tens of thousands of private sector jobs, lowered unemployment to 6.8%, fully funded their state pensions and balanced their budget WITHOUT raising taxes.

WI Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch speaks at the Chicago Tax Day Tea Party

I introduced Wisconsin Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch at the 2012 Chicago Tax Day Tea Party.

At that rally, Kleefisch told us,

“This recall election in Wisconsin is about big union power. It is about these big union bosses maintaining government control–of a government that may want to control you.

“We are a harbinger, a canary in the coal mine. And we are sounding the alarm–that if the big unions can wrestle control back from We the People–then if it could happen in Wisconsin it could happen anywhere. So we could go backward–but we choose forward,”

“Forward” is the state motto of Wisconsin.

Unlike President Obama, who is using Forward as his campaign slogan, Walker and Kleefisch have moved Wisconsin’s economy forward, cut spending and balanced their budget.

Can we count on you?

Danielle Rowe

Whether you want to go to Wisconsin or help from your own home, there are many ways you can help support Scott Walker during this critical recall election:

• Make phone calls from home: You can make phone calls from home now through the primary election by signing up at myscottspot.org.
• Make phone calls from the Racine Victory Center: Racine is a swing district, and it’s just across the border. The Democrats are targeting Senator Van Wangggaard to hurt Scott Walker. If Wanggaard loses, Walker and the Republicans lose their majority in the Senate. We will be making phone calls from the Victory Center now through the election.
• Walk for Scott Walker THIS SATURDAY, MAY 5: Volunteers are meeting at the Racine Victory Center from 9AM to 10AM this Saturday, May 5. Lunch will be provided. You can canvass from 9 or 10AM until 12:30PM, and/or 1:30PM until dark or when you finish with your packet of 40-60 homes.
• Be a poll watcher on May 8 or June 5: Illinois residents are eligible to serve as poll watchers during the May 8 recall primary and the June 5 recall election.

Calls to vote in the primary are critical for Scott Walker.

He has a progressive Republican opponent named Arthur Kohl-Riggs. Arthur was a protestor in Madison against the Pension Reform Bill. He calls himself a “Progressive Republican”.

WI has an Open Primary.

The concern is that the Democrats will cross over to vote for Arthur in the Primary which would throw Gov. Walker out of office.

The goal is to make Walker supporters aware that they MUST vote in this Primary to stop the Democrats attempt to cross over and vote for his opponent.

Can you help?

If you can help, please call me at 847-773-7693 or email me at rowe@danielleforil.com

You can view and download a .pdf of our Illinois Tea Party call to action here:

Illinois Tea Party Call to Action: Wisconsin Recall

We need your help for the final push! Together we can re-elect Scott Walker!

Kent Gaffney

I have to admit to being astounded at how much Dave McSweeney spent in his Republican Party campaign.

$354,000 or $74.64 per vote.

As I examined State Rep. Kent Gaffney campaign disclosure form, filed in mid-evening, I discovered that he spent less–$235,116,80.

That’s $59.04 per vote.

Both are so, so high…especially compared to third place finisher Danielle Rowe, who spent $7.04 a vote.

Of course, the candidate who spent the most won the election.

Gaffney had $5,800 on hand at the end of the quarter, March 31st.

Gaffney continued to report contributions of $1,000 or more after the end of the reporting period, that is, starting April 1st:

• $1,000 – TR PAC
• $22,776 – Citizens for Tom Cross  (for legal fees)

So the cost of the campaign will be even more that $235,000 when all the bills have arrived and, presumably, paid.

The total spent by the three candidates is about $609,000. But that doesn’t include bills paid after April 1st.

Danielle Rowe

Tea Party-inspired State Rep. candidate Danielle Rowe spent $19,736 on her unsuccessful campaign to represent the 52nd House District.

Proving that she is a fiscal conservative, Rowe ended up with $15,600 in the bank.

On March 16th and 17th, she got

$10,000 from the Illinois Opportunity Project
$8,000 from the Fiscal Accountability PAC

I remember that even I figured out that I was going to lose to Roland Burris by September. The realization came when media pretty much refused to run anything but horse race stories. And, of course, because of superior name identification, he was way ahead.

Because Kent Gaffney’s campaign disclosure report is not yet filed, I can’t do a three-way comparison, but below you see how much winner David McSweeney and Rowe spend per vote:

• McSweeney – $74.64
• Rowe – $7.04

So, except for gas and motels, the money that came in during the later part of the campaign didn’t get spent.

I ended up with $12,000 and invested $3,000 in four mutual funds that did very well over the eighties.

My campaign for State Representative in 1992 was so much easier not having to overly worry about raising money.

I could just campaign.

= = = = =
What McSweeney spent can be found here.

What Gaffney spent can be found here.

Dave McSweeney

David McSweeney spent $354,013 to win the 3-way State Representative race in the 52nd House District.

He beat out appointed State Rep. Kent Gaffney and Tea Party activist Danielle Rowe.

Of that amount, he owes about $53,736 to various vendors, including $5,000 for the March payment to his campaign manager, Jim Thacker.

{When I first put this story up, I added up the wrong column on the campaign disclosure debt page of the State Board of Election. I forgot that the original totals are on the right hand side, while what is currently owed is in the center. I have corrected the headline and the text.]

Thacker says that the debt to venders is now down to “about $40,000.”

In addition, he owes himself $147,500.

The new campaign disclosure law takes a “no limits” approach if one candidate spends more than $100,000 during an election cycle.

Since McSweeney did not top the $100,000 mark prior to the primary election.

Had he done so, his opponents Gaffney or Rowe been able to find contributors willing to spend more than the

• $5,000 limit for individuals or
• $10,000 for business or unions or associations
• $50,000 for individual campaign funds or Political Action Committees

they could have legally done so, the same way they could have before the new campaign limits kicked into effect.

The $100,000 limitation gets re-set for each new election. On March 29th, McSweeney loaned his campaign another $50,000, which counts toward the $100,000 mark for the general election campaign.

So, McSweeney starts from scratch and could loan or give his campaign committee $100,000 before prospective fellow millionaire Dee Beaubien or well-heeled pro-abortion Personal PAC could dump more than the amount limited by state law.

Of course, Beaubien could be the one who exceeds the limit first.

It is not uncommon, however, for wealthy candidates to carry loans on the books of their campaign committees. For example, Mark Beaubien loaned his campaign fund $85,761.38 over the years, which is still on the books of Citizens for Beaubien. That Political Action Committee will presumably be the vehicle used by his widow Dee in her run against McSweeney as either an Independent or a Democrat.

McSweeney is still raising money, reporting a $3,000 contribution from Southern Illinois electric company Ameren on April 14th.

McSweeney took $2,500 and $2,600 polls on March 6th and 13th, respectively.  A $2,300 survey was taken on December 16, 2011.  $2,829 was spent for a baseline poll on September 23, 2011.  An Austin, Texas, firm named Baselice did the work.

= = = = =
Gaffney’s campaign expenditures can be found here.

Rowe’s are here.

Tom Cross at McHenry County's GOP Play Day last summer.right after Kent Gaffney was appointed State Representative.

You’re Republican House Leader.

One of your close allies dies.

One of your long-time staffers, who has worked on political campaigns across the state, has moved to the area three years or so ago.

He’s caught the political bug.

He spends so much time in Springfield and commuting that he hasn’t gotten deeply involved in the community, however.

You lean on the local Republican Party Chairman, State Rep. Mike Tryon, in this instance, who controls not quite a majority of the votes needed to name your assistant, Kent Gaffney, to replace your friend Mark Beaubien.

Tryon pulls it off.

So your former assistant is now a State Representative running with all the resources of his new office and your political staff for election.

Up pops a millionaire named Dave McSweeney.

Dave McSweeney

He has had the political bug since before meeting President Ronald Reagan.  He’s run for Congress twice after serving on the Palatine Township Board.

He really, really wants to win.

And he is not only capable of writing a $100,000 check (and smart enough to keep his contributions under that threshold, so all campaign limits will be lifted for his opponents), but also capable of tapping corporations for the now-maximum donation of $10,000 and individuals for $5,000.

And, he can convince the former GOP Presidential candidate John McCain to come help him raise funds…which he does.

Then, this conservative, endorsed by all the Pro-Life groups, beats your guy, the moderate, even as he is being attacked from the right by a Tea Party candidate (Danielle Rowe) saying he is a squish because he backed McCain.

So, there will be a new State Representative named David McSweeney, who will be in office as long as he wants to be.

And, he has no reason to have good will toward his Republican Leader Tom Cross, who threw everything he had behind his man, Kent Gaffney.

It’s going to be an interesting adjustment period, wouldn’t you say?

An email from State Rep. candidate Danielle Rowe:

Danielle Rowe

Thank you all for everything you have done to support my campaign.  I am very grateful to everyone who dedicated their time, their focus and their energy. I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with many great people during this journey and look forward to keeping and building those relationships in the future.   We ran strong in this race, a race where more money was spent than in any other state representative race in the entire state.  Here are the unofficial results:

David McSweeney

That’s what the message just sent to those on his campaign email list says:

“McSweeney wins the primary with six points.

“Thank you for your support.

“We did it together!”

McSweeney unseated appointed State Rep. Kent Gaffney, the choice of McHenry County Republican Party Chairman Mike Tryon and Barrington Township Committeeman Gene Dawson.

Gaffney relied on what I would characterize as an “endorsement” campaign.

It’s not that he didn’t emphasize his strong points, which were quite similar to my own when I ran for McHenry County Treasurer (having served as a Budget Examiner in the United States Budget Bureau).

He did.

But endorsements trumped everything else and were clearly thought to be most important to emphasize.

One can tell that from the insert in the Election Day Northwest Herald, something I have never seen before.

Despite Tea Party candidate Danielle Rowe’s having concentrated her fire in her last two mailings on McSweeney, while ignoring Gaffney, McSweeney held on to enough support to emerge victorious.