An email from Democratic Party activist Terry Koppel to some of his friends about his intention to run for McHenry County Board:
Terry Koppel demonstrated in front of Joe Walsh's Fox Lake office.
Greetings my friend;
I would like to share with you, my intention to run for County Board in District 6.
There will be many challenges I’ll face during this effort.
I will need to raise a substantial amount of money, for instance.
Since I have a very modest amount of money to live on anyway, I will be unable to offer many of my own resources to the campaign.
Therefore, I will have to enlist a large number of volunteers to help.
I will also face personal challenges as well.
I am currently receiving Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits, and I do not have the money for a car, so I depend upon the very limited public transportation in our county to get around.
This means, while I can get to Harvard, and the portions of North Woodstock and Wonder Lake which are in my County Board District, I will need help from others in order to get to places like Marengo, the western portion of Grafton township and all the rural portions of District 6 (which would be unwalkable anyway).
As well, the clinical depression which is debilitating at times, will prove a challenge during a campaign, as well during service on the County Board should I be elected.
While these personal obstacles will be a challenge, I believe they also provide me with a perspective that few typical candidates for office would have.
I know from personal experience, what a large number of people in our county also know — what it’s like to be dependent upon public services and transportation.
I know what life is like day to day for people who are barely getting by on a fixed income.
I know what it’s like to try to get around on a bus service, with bus routes essentially laid out in the late 70s, when the population of the county was less than half what it is today.
I know, from personal experience, what it is like to be dependent upon the generous yet far from adequate private charities in the county.
And, I know how much more need there is than there are services being provided to address those needs.
I’d like to see more services for those in need, and services designed to offer an easier transition from idleness to productive, contributing member of our communities.
It is my belief and hope that there is room for at least one person in county government who knows what it is like to be in need of those services.
I would also like my campaign to be focused upon a grassroots effort which will enlist activists to work for all Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
While the absolute objective of running for office is to be elected, I believe there should be larger objectives as well.
Expanding the Democratic Party to a point of
- providing a genuine two party system in this county is one, and
- fighting for those who least can fight effectively for themselves, as well as
- fighting for progressive causes, and
- a balanced county budget
are all objectives which would also be objectives worth fighting for.
After all, if a candidate should have something worth running for, other than just to win an election.
Terry Kappel, 710 St. John’s Rd. Apt. 4, Woodstock, IL 60098
He should fit in well with the other democratic party members. How can we be so lucky to get a candidate like him. Go Kopple…GO!
Let’s see now.
About 2 weeks ago he was saying that he was going to run against Walsh and held an anti-Walsh rally before Walsh’s townhall in Woodstock. He said that was holding the rally in order to invigorate Democrats going to confront Walsh.
Now he’s going to run for County Board.
Cal calls him an “activist.” The NW Herald’s article about his anti-Walsh rally said he was a member of moveon.org and Citizen Action/Illinois, both far, far, left activist organizations, one of which is a major recepient of George Soros’ funding.
In fact, the exact quote from from the paper was: “Kappel is a committee member for the local Democratic party and a member of progressive groups MoveOn.org and Citizen Action/Illinois.”
In the NW Herald comments that followed the article, Kappel posted “”I am not with Moveeon, or Public action Illinois…I now share activities I’m involved in with their contact lists.” What? He’s not part of either group and they share their email lists with him? Doesn’t sound likely.
What does sound likely is that he either lied to the NW Herald claiming affiliation, or he lied in his comment claiming he wasn’t. Which is it, Mr. Kappel?
He says he’s receiving Social Security Disability benefits, yet feels healthy enough to run for, and hold down the job of County Board representative. I don’t get it. Is Kappel saying that being a member of the County Board isn’t that hard to do (implying that maybe the Board is, perhaps, overpaid), or maybe he might not quite that disabled. Isn’t SSDI supposed to be for people whose disability is so severe as to be unemployable? It’s hard to tell from Cal’s photo of Kappel carrying *2* anti-Walsh signs at a protest outside of Walsh’s office.
When I lived in McHenry County, party affiliation seems to be almost invisible. My discussion with board members through the years indicated an affable and congenial relationship among the members that clearly transcended party labels. Which, in my opinion, is much desirable when compared to the national epidemic of incivility and divisiveness centered in Washington, DC.
In the NW Herald, Kappel said “that Right Wingers are so filled with animous and hate for people who are different they often do not hear what others say.”
Do the people of the 6th District want to be represented by a man who evidences – not simple (and expected) partisanship – but a willingness to condemn most people of the county as hate-filled bigots because they are Republicans or conservatives, and not progressive or liberal?
The previous poster “Justijn” wrote “He should fit in well with the other democratic party members. How can we be so lucky to get a candidate like him. Go Kopple…GO!” Assuming that this was not sarcasm, it ought to be a flashing “red alert” sign that some in the Democratic Party wish to bring the same aggressive incivility found at the national level to the county. And this would be a pity.
Oh yes. Sarcasm.
The local Democratic party attracts the likes of Kopple. The “Gimme” group. “Gimme” more welfare, “Gimmie” more benefits, just don”t try and “Gimme” a job.