An email from Lakewood Village President Erin Smith:
Friends and Family,
Ron Parrish
The April 7th election is fast approaching and early voting started this week. I am writing to ask for your support for three candidates for McHenry County College Trustee:
Ron Parrish – running for a 6-year term, currently serving as MCC Board Chairman
Mike Smith – running for a 6-year term, currently serving as MCC Trustee
Mike Smith
Karen Tirio – running for a 4-year term, MCC Alumni
I am also requesting your help forwarding this email message to your friends and family throughout McHenry County — with your endorsement of these outstanding candidates!
Ron, Mike and Karen are all fiscally conservative, committed to easing the burden on McHenry County taxpayers by expanding private funding to support the college.
Karen Tirio
They are all passionate about the critical role our community college plays:
- Providing quality education at an affordable price
- Empowering students of all ages to achieve career success and financial independence
- Developing a skilled workforce and promoting economic development.
Each candidate brings practical experience and expertise regarding the needs and assets of the college. A brief summary of their qualifications is attached for your reference.
And each candidate has been endorsed by many of our local leaders, including:
- State Senator Pamela Althoff
- State Senator Karen McConnaughay
- State Representative Mike Tryon
- State Representative Barb Wheeler
- County Board Chairman Joe Gottemoller
- McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi
- McHenry County Sheriff Bill Prim
- County Board Member Andrew Gasser
- County Board Member Tina Hill
- County Board Member John Jung
- County Board Member Donna Kurtz
- County Board Member Chuck Wheeler
- MCC Trustee Chris Jenner
- Vice Chair Algonquin Township, Republican Central Committee Chris Yaeger
- Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water
- Citizen Advocates for Public Accountability
- Voters in Action
Thank you for taking the time to read this email, thank you for your patience for the campaign process and, most of all, thank you for caring enough about our community to vote on April 7th (or sooner at a local City Hall).
The most important endorsement is from current MCC trustee Chris Jenner.
The College of DuPage Board wanted to oust President Robert Breuder yet is giving him a $750K severance package, naming a building after him, and he remains on as President until sometime in 2015 or 2016, and the Board approved this bad deal while under scrutiny from Open the Books and Edgar County Watchdogs / Illinois Leaks for questionable spending practices.
The Faculty Union gave a vote of no confidence for Breuder.
Do not assume elected boards are watching the cookie jar.
Naturally she would push for her husband.
He won’t get my vote.
Ms. Smith, it should be a crime to send out endorsements and NOT disclosing certain facts such as one of your endorsed candidates is your husband.
I swear,some elected officials have no shame whatsoever.
There are issues on which Erin Smith and I disagree, but in this case I must rise to her defense and to Mike’s.
If Erin Smith had sent this email to all the citizens of Lakewood, or if this were a paid ad in the newspaper and she had mentioned her position as President of the Village without mentioning she is married to Mike, the complaints would be valid.
But the letter was sent to “family and friends”, in other words to people who all know Erin is married to Mike.
It was a personal appeal to people she knows.
Second, Mike has “walked the walk” as MCC trustee.
One of his first acts was to vote against raising property taxes, opposing the administration’s wishes.
As long as he does that, he’ll have my support.
Third, this is a contested race, and you must consider the opposition.
Ron Parrish and Mike Smith are running for the two six year seats. Opposing them are Jeff Hill and Scott Summers.
Hill was in charge of recruiting students to Westwood College for many years.
On his LinkedIn page he boasts about tripling enrollment during his tenure.
Westwood is being sued by the state of Illinois for deceiving the students it recruited, guiding them into worthless degree programs, and high interest student loans when lower interest rate loans were available.
Westwood has settled similar suits in other states.
Scott Summers was on the MCC board about ten years ago.
He voted three times for double-digit property tax increases.
Then he quit.
He ran for the County Board as a Democrat in 2012 and for Governor as the Green Party candidate in 2014.
As a gubernatorial candidate, he opposed lowering Illinois’ income tax.
He thinks all government problems are revenue problems, not expenditure problems.
So people who don’t vote for Mike are helping Jeff Hill or Scott Summers.
That’s an easy choice.
Once again, Mr. Willson deliberately overlooks – and distorts – several points.
I have never denied or hidden my political affiliations.
If anything, they show that I stand apart from all political cliques in McHenry County.
Perhaps voters will deem that to be a virtue.
In any event, party ties are irrelevant in this election.
And Mr. Willson knows that.
Yet he keeps trying to make an issue of it.
According to state law, “the election of the members of the board of trustees shall be nonpartisan and shall be held at the time and in the manner provided in the general election law .” 110 ILCS 805/3-7 (a).
What part of the word “nonpartisan” does Mr. Willson fail to understand?
Ten years ago, I was elected as a trustee at MCC.
Ten years.
We had just peaked as one of the fastest growing counties in the nation; demand for college services was enormous.
They had to be paid for somehow.
There are no magic beans, Mr. Willson.
Would you (distinguished municipal bonds analyst that you are) have suggested that the college plunge headlong into debt in order to meet demand?
I don’t think so.
“As a gubernatorial candidate, he opposed lowering Illinois’ income tax. He thinks all government problems are revenue problems, not expenditure problems.”
Wrong again, Mr. Willson.
Completely wrong.
We all know that the Springfield crowd – Republicans and Democrats alike (and not the Greens!) – has cooked the state’s books to an absolute crisp.
I, too, would dearly like to cut our way out of it.
At this point, however, much of it is debt – debt to the vendors we chronically stiff, unfunded liability on the recklessly run pension programs.
Short of bankruptcy, one cannot cut debt.
And under bankruptcy laws, states cannot go bankrupt.
Accordingly, I have spoken candidly of the INEVITABILITY of state taxes. I’ve not advocated for them.
Like everyone else, I’m not at all fond of paying taxes.
And OF COURSE there are expenditure problems.
I have made numerous suggestions about what to do about them.
For example, I have said that we need to close several of our state universities.
That’s an absolute political nonstarter today.
But I believe that within ten to fifteen years (if not sooner), it will become a necessity.
Do voters want, as you suggest, a “walk the walk” candidate for trustee?
I’ve thoroughly proven myself in that respect.
In 2007, I was one of two MCC trustees who reversed course on the proposed ballpark on campus.
And in so doing, I believe that I helped to head off a multi-million dollar mistake.
Think of me as you will, Mr. Willson.
But do not misrepresent me.
Mr. Summers, Would you explain affiliation with the party which, by and through the leadership of Madigan, has plunged this state into a crisis of unknown proportions?
Both parties are complicit in the destruction of Illinois.
This point has been exhaustively stated but it is the Democratic Party and her sycophants who have ultimate responsibility.
The difficulty voters may have with believing a dyed in the wool liberal is the possibility you may be a fiscal conservative.
There are such creatures as Blue Dog Democrats but they were forced, by and large, from the Democratic Party quite some time ago for having the audacity to believe social issues could be balanced with reasonable money management.
I really don’t expect you to respond in this venue but a public explanation of your positions may be in order.
Respectfully, in the current financial crisis our state and country face, you would be well served to explain some kind of vision for the voter.
Although this race may be non partisan your past affiliations speak volumes for your leadership tendencies for many.
Be clear with the voting public about how your liberal views won’t result in a desire to indoctrinate a generation of thoughtless entitled children with no maturity who will view debts as mere paper with no force of character behind them.
Dear Scott,
Your statement that the race is nonpartisan is at best disingenuous.
Your political history is relevant to voters’ decision about whether to support you.
And our taxes are as high as they are today specifically because YOU and others like you always voted for the maximum tax increase.
It is relevant because of the effect today, and it is relevant because it is your record.
And politicians like you always claim that you need every penny you can get.
Please detail all the cost saving measures you achieved when you were on the board at MCC.
The answer is: none.
As for the ballpark, yes, you reversed yourself — and then you quit. And you called that “standing up” for the voters.
If you had really wanted to stand up for the voters you would have stayed and fought for them.
But you didn’t.
You quit.
Those are the facts.
Now, you accused me of “overlooking and distorting several points”.
I would ask that you could actually tie your assertions to specific things I’ve said.
Did I distort your record on property taxes?
No, I did not.
Did I distort your position on the income tax?
No, I did not.
As for overlooking things, I notice you never mention that you quit the MCC board instead of serving out your term.
And if you do respond, perhaps this time you can resist the temptation to being quite so snippy and just stick to the facts.
Sincerely yours,
Steve Willson
Cal,
I have a question for you regarding this email.
Was the email sent from her own private email account or from a Lakewood government email account.
I ask the question, because if it is from her private account.
Then everything is legal, but my understanding of campaign laws is that election emails can not be sent on government email accounts.
Thanks,
Brent
Scott Summers,
Running for an elected office is a major decision and we need a greater number of candidates to run for elected office.
It takes a lot of time, energy, talent and at times tough skin.
You completely lack tough skin.
I base this on the complete fact you QUIT an elected position.
Quoting a Daily Herald article from 2009, Summers said. “Personalities come, personalities go. I did my best and I’m moving on.”
If you believe anything on the MCC Board has changed your completely wrong.
If you couldn’t function in the last board, you will not function in the current board.
Once a quitter, always a quitter…
Brent
It came from a gmail account.
You can find out about Scott Summers stance in his own words on how he’d like taxes to increase, (including gasoline taxes), social services to increase, how bullets should be taxed like cigarets, employers’ expenses should go up, his desire for amnesty and how he thinks we should become a weaker country by decreasing our defense but spend more on national parks!
If you don’t want to take Wilson’s word for it, you’ll see where his priorities lie here: http://votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/33318/scott-summers/#.VRjXs0KK9O8
“Taxes Will Rise!”
And about those times you’ve raised taxes every time the college asked back when ‘times were booming’, DOES’NT MEAN YOU SHOULD HAVE, Summers!
Your actions then are part of why we’re paying in taxes what we’re paying today when we can’t afford to!
And he feels budgets for United Nations (a corrupt organization) should be ‘Greatly Increased’
and Welfare should be Greatly Increased.
Gee there are now over 50% of people on food stamps.
Summers would like it to be MORE!
Just imagine…the morale in a county, state, country were even MORE people are on welfare.
The people’s morale that work to pay for that would surely go down and would hop on the gravy train.
Summers is a Liberal loon who is out to spend us further into oblivion!