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News :: Elections & Legislation : Political-Economy |
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Greens Say It's a Go; Blagojevich Says No |
Current rating: 0 |
by Nicole Sack
Email: nicole.sack (nospam) thesouthern.com (unverified!)
Phone: (618) 529-5454 ext. 5816 |
03 Aug 2006
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CARBONDALE - The Green Party gubernatorial hopeful Rich Whitney said he "can practically guarantee" his place on the November ballot - claiming the Greens have upheld 1,000 more signatures than legally required for ballot access.
Whitney said that as of Wednesday more than 26,153 signatures have been cleared of objection - state law requires 25,000 signatures for third party access to the statewide ballot. He said all that is left is for the State Board of Elections to verify the findings.
Sept. 1 is the last day for the State Board of Elections to certify General Election ballot.
Whitney, a civil-rights attorney from Carbondale, said he has followed the provisions of the law and proved himself as a candidate. Now, he'd like to treated as one and be included in the upcoming fall debates.
"It is in the best interests of the people of this state to have more choices for governor, not fewer," Whitney said. "It amazes me that Mr. Blagojevich would be opposed to testing his stances in an open marketplace of ideas." |
Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he is primed and ready to debate Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka - just so long as there are no Greens on stage. Blagojevich said the upcoming fall debates should be left to the political professionals.
"I think the debates should be between the two major party candidates," Blagojevich said. "I think it's important for the major parties to focus on the issues, because the two major parties are the ones that are in a position to make the decisions for the people of Illinois."
When asked if he would pull out of a debate if a Green was also invited, the governor had only this to say:
"Let me put it to you this way: we've offered a series of 12 to treasurer Topinka. Our offer is to debate her one-on-one." And added, "I'm interested in debating (Topinka) in 12 debates. I sure hope she's not looking for some excuse to get out of these debates."
The Topinka camp said it is not looking for any excuses to get into another debate about debates - nor to make up excuses.
"We're willing to debate anyone," said John McGovern, spokesman for the Topinka campaign. "We believe it is up to the debate sponsors and organizers to determine who's invited and who participates."
Blagojevich and Topinka have both committed to a debate in Marion, sponsored by The Southern Illinoisan, WSIU Public Television and the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at SIUC. Whitney has not been invited so far.
Blagojevich took a softer line when it came to whom he thought could be included on the November ballot.
"Whoever wants to run - with enough signatures - should be able to run in America," he said.
The State Board of Elections requires 5,000 petition signatures to get established Democratic or Republican candidates on the statewide ticket. However, new parties such as the Greens are required to collect 25,000 signatures during a 90-day window to get a spot on the statewide ballot.
The Greens claimed to have collected 39,000 signatures to make sure they had a cushion to protect against objections. Democrats filed objections to the validity of the Greens' petition signatures on July 3. Since mid-July, the State Board of Elections has been conducting a line-by-line review of signatures. |
See also:
http://ilgp.org/groups/media/ilgp-press-coverage/the-southern-greens-say-it-s-a-go-blagojevich-says-no
http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2006/08/03/top/17122657.txt
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