January 7, 2010
Northfield, Illinois
Candidates for the 10th Congressional District Primary Elections were as individual as the snowflakes coming down outside New Trier West High School. The Leagues of Women Voters of Deerfield Area, Glencoe, Glenview, Highland Park, Lake County, Lake Forest +Lake Bluff, Wilmette, and Winnetka-Northfield-Kenilworth hosted a forum for citizens to question and listen to the 10th Congressional District Democratic and Republican candidates for the February 2nd Primary Elections
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Republican Opening Statements
Republicans Elizabeth Coulson, Robert Dold, Arie Friedman and Paul Hamann got the snowball rolling with 90-second opening statements. Running to be the voice of the 10th District, Coulson announced her recent endorsement by former Congressman John Porter. Hamann declared his desire to leave Afghanistan and Iraq immediately. Pediatrician Friedman is very concerned about health care. Embracing the power of the individual, Dold got his passion for politics when Ronald Reagan was in the White House and believes that Washington needs a good dose of business common sense.
Questions from the audience were written on index cards and funneled to the candidates by moderator, Edith Auchter, of the League of Women Voters of Barrington. Each candidate was aided by timers Linda Duback and Farrukh Jafer of the League of Women of Glenview to stay within their 60-second response time. Following are highlights of the Republican candidate views:
Term Limits
All four candidates want to keep presidential term limits as is (two full terms). Citing support for citizen legislatures, the candidates also agreed that members of Congress should be limited to serving somewhere between eight and twelve years.
Health Care
Answers to how they would pay for health care were varied. Friedman noted that the current legislation is regulating price instead of cost. Dold suggested the 20-22% of waste, fraud and abuse n the Medicare program is a way to pay for it. Coulson is a proponent of small incremental changes in what we do. Predicting that premiums will double when people with pre-existing conditions began to demand care, Hamann stated it is acceptable for 10% of the nation not to be covered.
Housing Terrorist in Thomson Correctional Center
Friedman said terrorists are enemy combatants and should not be treated as criminals or housed at Thomson. Dold doesn't want them at Thomson either; he stated that should prisoners form Thomson need medical treatment they will be brought to the VA hospital in the 10th District. Stating that we didn't baring WWII war criminals to the US for trial, Coulson believes Thomson should be sold to the federal government, but not to be used for terrorists. Hamann warned should terrorists not be found guilty they would be release in Illinois.
Creating Jobs
Dold cited a moratorium on payroll taxes would create jobs by putting it in the hands of the job creators the small businesses. Coulson supports EDGE tax credits to create jobs, as they can be applied for as jobs are created. Hamann is a proponent of investment spending not consumption spending to stimulate the job market. Friedman believes economic instability and high taxes impede job creation.
Campaign Finance Reform
Coulson believes limits are important; a candidate should not get funding from one or tow sources. Hamann supports public funding and believes small is good and big is bad, for both business and government. On the other hand, Friedman believes campaign finance laws are an infringement on free speech. Dold thinks no one individual should have too big a say.
Closing Statements
Robert Dold is an American dream believer who feels our best days are to come. Elizabeth Coulson said it is a representative's job to look out for their constituents once in DC she will work in a bi-partisan manner to build coalitions. Paul Hamann supports public funding of political campaigns because Republicans and Democrats have the special interests at heart. Arie Freidman believes in the return to a citizen legislature.
Democratic Opening Statements
Julie Hamos, Elliot Richardson and Daniel Seals' opening statements kicked off the Democratic Candidates portion of the forum (Dick Green was unavailable for this forum). Seals cited his business and economic background and stated his is running for his three children who deserve a better world. Richardson is running because he believes in a better, stronger America. Hamos cited her immigrant background and stated she will involve her constituents every step of the way.
Education
Citing that for every dollar spent, we get back nine, Seals is for expanding Head Start, funding "No Child Left Behind," and making college more affordable. Richardson also supports Head Start, but would also move to a growth assessment model and loan forgiveness for college graduates who take public service jobs or teach at "at risk" schools. Hamos encourages teacher training, Head Start funding and the reform of "No Child Left Behind."
Job Creation
Richardson calls for helping small business owners by shortening the depreciation schedule and lending them TARP dollars. Hamos supports creating jobs by strengthening transportation and infrastructure, ensuring credit flow and encouraging green jobs from TARP.
Immigration
All three candidates support comprehensive immigration reform. Richardson also supports the "path to citizenship and the Dream Act. Hamos is also for secure borders and immigrants taking on responsibilities. Seals supports enforcing the law with employers and criminal background checks as one step toward illegal immigrants getting on the road to "help carry the load."
Health Care
Seals believes in reducing cost, improving quality and expanded coverage and also supports consistency and the public option. Richardson also supports the public option and using prevention t o bring the cost down. Hamos believes electronic medical records will reduce costs and increase safety.
Military Presence in Afghanistan
Richardson does not support more troops; soldiers are being sent back on too many tours. Hamos believes in an exit strategy with benchmarks to measure progress. Seals has doubts that the Afghans can maintain their security and believes a more targeted approach is needed for Al-Qaeda.
Nuclear Power
Seals believes there must be answers too many questions before a decision can be made on using nuclear power for our energy needs. Richardson prefers alternative energy sources because nuclear power is too dangerous. Hamos want s to build renewable energy and is open to any and all energy options that will increase our independence from foreign oil.
Closing Statements
Citing civic engagement as her inspiration, Julie Hamos stated she will always listen to her constituents to create good public policy. Elliott Richardson believes we need campaign finance reform because until money is out of politics, regular guys won't have a voice. Seals said we need to make trade offs and use our resources more effectively.
Moderator Edith Auchter thanked the candidates, the audience and the League of Women Voters for their participation and reminded everyone to vote in the February 2nd Primary election because democracy is not a spectator sport. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization, dedicated to Making Democracy Work, through voter education, issue advocacy, and citizen participation.
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League of Women Voters of Glenview, Illinois. All rights reserved.
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