Story posted Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Green Party Candidate Running In 17th
Des Plaines resident Richard Dalka, a 1981 graduate of Maine West High School, is running to unseat Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman (R-17th) as a Green Party candidate.
Dalka said that even though he knows he has little political experience, that might just be what county government needs.
"I will bring the pride back to county government," said Dalka. His political experience came working on former Des Plaines Mayor Tony Arredia's mayoral campaign several years ago.
The Cook County sales tax rollback cannot come fast enough for Dalka. The current proposal is to rollback 1/4% over four years. Dalka wants to rollback 1/2% over two years.
Expected layoffs in Maine Township High School Dist. 207 are also on Dalka's mind. He said more revenue from the state and county needs to be put into local school districts.
To pay for the sales tax rollback and added school funding Dalka would cut waste in county government and work to cut payouts for workers compensation claims and vehicle damage claims from county workers. He also said the entire fleet of county vehicles, including trucks, needs to be changed over to hybrid or flex fuel vehicles.
Dalka is self-financing his campaign now and said he would establish a campaign fundraising committee in the general election. He vowed to only take contributions from individuals and not large groups or corporations.
When asked about his chances against the resources of an entrenched incumbent in Gorman or a township committeeman in Republican Mark Thompson, Dalka said, "It's not always about the money, it's the voter that makes the final choice."
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