Yiddish Word Meshugene Heat Up Campaign
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-tenth_23jan23,1,7393215,full.story?ctrack=2&cset=true
chicagotribune.com
ELECTION 2008
Consultant, ex-White House staffer vie to take on Mark Kirk in 10th District
By Susan Kuczka
Tribune reporter
January 23, 2008
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Seals, 36, a self-described Wilmette
business consultant, hopes to get a second shot at Kirk this fall. But
first he'll have to win the Feb. 5 Democratic primary against Jay
Footlik, a Skokie native and former White House Jewish liaison under
President Bill Clinton.
*-- END LEAD **-- START REST *
The two candidates combined to raise $1 million by the end of
September, but Footlik faced a challenge that Seals met two years ago
-- building up name recognition in a district represented by Kirk since
2001.
Footlik, 42, a Buffalo Grove resident who made Israel his
second home for several years after Clinton's presidency, also has to
convince Democratic voters he would have a better shot at unseating
Kirk than Seals, who got 47 percent of the vote in 2006.
"If my
opponent couldn't do it in the largest landslide for Democrats in four
decades, I think he's going to have a difficult chance trying to do it
this time," Footlik has told voters while campaigning in the suburban
swing district that in the last decade has shifted from leaning
Republican to Democratic.
Seals counters that he's a proven vote-getter.
"To me, the difference is in our credentials and credibility in delivering change," said Seals.
Running north from Wilmette in Cook County to Waukegan in Lake County,
and west to Arlington Heights in Cook and Libertyville in Lake, the
district's changing demographics helped fuel Seals' strong showing in
2006. Seals, a Chicago native whose father, George, played for the
Chicago Bears, had moved into the area three years before.
While opposition to the war in Iraq helped Seals' 2006 campaign, voters
also wanted to hear about the economy, immigration, health care reform
and education funding during this winter's debates.
In general,
though, Seals and Footlik offer nuanced differences on top issues,
leaving name recognition a potentially key factor in the contest -- a
possibility that forced Footlik, a one-time child actor, to spend most
of his money on getting his name in front of voters.
One
campaign flier brought Footlik, who has run a relatively low-key
campaign, some unwanted flak. The flier pictured a middle-age man
declaring, "I'd be meshugana not to support Jay Footlik." The use of
the Yiddish word "meshugana," which roughly translates to "crazy,"
offended some voters who felt the piece was too narrowly focused on one
group.
Footlik, who is Jewish, acknowledged he hopes to appeal
to the district's Jewish voters, who make up about 20 percent of the
10th's electorate. But he also hoped to win support from previous Seals
backers.
So far, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the
Jewish Political Alliance of Illinois switched their endorsements to
him.
Desire for a Seals-Kirk rematch helped lead to Seals'
endorsement from dozens of union groups and most local Democratic
officeholders, including Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston in the
neighboring 9th District, where Seals actually resides.
Seals
is portraying himself as a Washington outsider who would fight for
change. As proof, he said his 2006 campaign already had energized the
district's Democrats, Republicans and independents who also want to see
a new direction in Washington.
"I think it's my experience outside Washington that makes me the more effective agent of change," he said.
Since leaving a marketing position at GE Commercial Finance to run his
first campaign, Seals said he has worked as a business consultant for a
social activism Web site and Chicago-based Avondale Consulting.
Footlik countered that his background as a former White House staffer
and member of a Washington, D.C.-based energy research firm better
prepared him to serve in Congress.
"I think while one candidate
talks about creating change, the only real experience he has -- besides
talking about it -- is actually running for this seat," said Footlik,
who also worked as a lobbyist last year for a U.S. firm that
manufactures security scanning devices.
Besides the argument
about experience, there have been few flash points so far. With the
environment a big issue in the district, Seals has criticized Footlik's
involvement with a D.C. group dedicated to finding new energy sources
that supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska. Footlik counters that he did not personally support the
drilling proposal.
- - -
10th District Democratic candidates
Dan Seals
Age: 36
Residence: Wilmette
Professional background: Self-employed business consultant; Avondale
Consulting, Chicago; former task force member, Council on Global
Affairs, Chicago; former marketing director GE Commercial Finance;
former English teacher in Japan.
Education: University of
Chicago, MBA; Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies,
Washington, D.C., master's degree in international economics and Japan
studies; internships, U.S. Commerce Department, U.S. Senate.
Personal: Wife Mia; three children.
Jay Footlik
Age: 42
Residence: Buffalo Grove
Professional background: Co-founder, DiNovo Strategies security
consulting firm; board director, Securing America's Future Energy;
treasurer, American Friends of the Yitzhak Rabin Center; adviser, Peres
Center for Peace, Tel Aviv; Jewish liaison, President Bill Clinton;
adviser, Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.
Education: Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; law degree; UCLA, bachelor of arts degree, political science.
Personal: Wife Grace; one child.
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[email protected]
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