Endorsements for the March 20, 2012 Republican Primary
Endorsements for the March 20, 2012 Republican Primary
For President of the United States
For State Senator 23rd District
For County Board District 6
Kevin R. Wiley
For DuPage County Forest Preserve District 6
For Judge of the 18th Judicial District
Precinct Committeeman (Wayne township precinct 18)
The choice is yours, vote to keep it that way.
If you live in Bartlett, when you go to the polling place on March 20th you will have a referendum on your ballot that reads “Shall the Village of Bartlett have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such program?”
As your Village Trustee, I was opposed to this going to referendum, but the Village Board passed it anyways.
I would encourage you to vote No on the referendum and here is why.
First, what business is it of the Government, in the case, the Village of Bartlett, who you use for your utility service? This reminds me a little of the early days of cable. Do you remember when your municipality would choose who could offer cable television in town? There was virtually no choice for the consumer, rates were whatever the cable company wanted them to be and it was not until satellite companies entered the market that the consumer had a choice.
Second, why should you have to opt out of such a program? Shouldn’t you be given the option to opt in? What if you forget to opt out, what about those residents that did not get a proper notice to opt out?
Finally, shouldn’t you the consumer be free to make your own choice at any time and not be restricted to the company the Government thinks is the best for you? I am not suggesting you not shop around for your best deal for electricity, I think you should. I look at the info I get, I compare it to ComEd and I make my own decision, as should you, but if you vote for the referendum or don’t vote at all, you will be letting someone else make the choice for you.
I urge you, on March 20th, 2012 to go vote in the primary and to vote no on the referendum.
Thanks
Frank Napolitano
Bartlett Village Trustee
Wayne Township Republican Precinct Committeeman
http://blog.franknapolitano.com
In the words of Village Trustee Frank Napolitano
There have been several articles and several letters to the editor regarding Mike Kelly’s resignation, including an editorial in the Bartlett Examiner that I don’t feel gave an accurate portrayal of what I said at the meeting, and I thought I would share my thoughts and clarify some of the statements that were made during the meeting.
A question of a potential legal issue was brought up along with some heated discussion regarding a recent article in the Daily Herald regarding Mike Kelly. I was silent for that discussion until I felt the personal attacks and arguing had gone on long enough. I did not have an understanding of what the legal issue was as I am not a lawyer. We have a Village Attorney, and I was interested in his opinion on the matter and would have been happy to take his opinion on it and move on. Our Village Attorney stated he would prefer we get outside legal counsel on this matter and Trustee TL Arrends made the motion, it was seconded and voted on unanimously. Again, I would have preferred our Village Attorney give legal advice on the matter but he was not comfortable in doing so.
I had and have no personal issue with Mike Kelly, quite the contrary, like approximately 80% of the voters, I too voted for Mike Kelly. I went beyond that though; I put a yard sign in my front yard and also on my fence in a high traffic area. Even showing more support, I walked for Mike Kelly, handing out his literature, even though I was in an uncontested race for Village Trustee.
Since I have been a Trustee in 2009, I have voted with Mike Kelly on many issues, and we have had our share of different views, but it was never heated, and I believe we always had a mutual respect for each other. After hearing the news that Mike resigned I called him to wish him well. I was surprised he resigned; I wished he hadn’t and I wish him and his family the very best.
The audio transcript of the meeting is available on the Village website under village government, than meeting agendas and minutes. The minutes of the meeting will be up soon, but in the meantime, you can listen to the meeting and make your own mind on what was said and what if any motivation there was in what was said. http://www.village.bartlett.il.us/assets/audio/Board111115.mp3
I firmly believe in the rights to free speech and the freedom of the press and support the Bartlett Examiner’s Editorial Staff to say whatever they want to about me, but I want you, the residents of Bartlett to hear or read my words for yourself and make up your own mind.
Thanks
Frank Napolitano
You are making campaign contributions, whether you like it or not.
I was at an event last week at the DuPage County Fairgrounds. The office of the State’s Attorney was there giving away little plastic drinking cups and Frisbees. These items were of course paid for by us, the tax payers. Perhaps, there is a legitimate reason to give these things away, community involvement, raising awareness, etc. I get all of that, but why do they need to put the State’s Attorney’s name on the items? It looks an awful lot like promotional items that a campaign should be paying for, but the campaign is not paying for it, we are.
This is one example of something that members of both parties do, and they do it excessively without regard for who’s money it is that is paying for these items, ours. Why did our tax dollars pay for Rod Blagojevich’s name to be all over the I-Pass lanes on the toll way? Why did the tax payers of Chicago need to put Daley’s name and now I assume Rahm’s name up at the airport saying, Welcome to Chicago? Why do our tax dollars need to be used to pay for giveaways for Lisa Madigan’s office, or Jesse White’s office?
Even the treasurer’s do it when they mail you your tax bill whether it is Cook County’s Maria Pappas, or Illinois’s Dan Rutherford, however notice the US Treasurer doesn’t put his name on envelopes, perhaps because he is not an elected official.
If it is wrong for the Democrats, it is wrong for the Republicans. Someone needs to take a stand, someone needs to say, if you want to give away something from the office of the State’s Attorney, for example, do it without promoting my name. There is no need for them to use our money to pay for their campaign giveaways, and that is what these items amount to.
You are making campaign contributions, whether you like it or not.
I was at an event last week at the DuPage County Fairgrounds. The office of the State’s Attorney was there giving away little plastic drinking cups and Frisbees. These items were of course paid for by us, the tax payers. Perhaps, there is a legitimate reason to give these things away, community involvement, raising awareness, etc. I get all of that, but why do they need to put the State’s Attorney’s name on the items? It looks an awful lot like promotional items that a campaign should be paying for, but the campaign is not paying for it, we are.
This is one example of something that members of both parties do, and they do it excessively without regard for who’s money it is that is paying for these items, ours. Why did our tax dollars pay for Rod Blagojevich’s name to be all over the I-Pass lanes on the toll way? Why did the tax payers of Chicago need to put Daley’s name and now I assume Rahm’s name up at the airport saying, Welcome to Chicago? Why do our tax dollars need to be used to pay for giveaways for Lisa Madigan’s office, or Jesse White’s office?
Even the treasurer’s do it when they mail you your tax bill whether it is Cook County’s Maria Pappas, or Illinois’s Dan Rutherford, however notice the US Treasurer doesn’t put his name on envelopes, perhaps because he is not an elected official.
If it is wrong for the Democrats, it is wrong for the Republicans. Someone needs to take a stand, someone needs to say, if you want to give away something from the office of the State’s Attorney, for example, do it without promoting my name. There is no need they need to use our money to pay for their campaign giveaways, and that is what these items amount to being.
It's Time to Fix the Republican Party from the Inside!
With the upcoming Republican Primary, the Republican Party will also hold elections for Precinct Committeeman. Precinct maps are drawn based on registered voters, and sizes of precincts can vary, but are usually somewhere in the 1,000 registered voter range.
If you are curious what your precinct map is or who your current Precinct Committeeman is, you can look that info up on your County Election Board website. For DuPage County, you can look up your precinct here http://cms.dupageelections.com/pages.asp?pageid=228. If you don’t personally know, or currently have a Precinct Committeeman, I would suggest running.
Some of the things PCs can have a direct impact are who’s literature is getting handed out in your neighborhood, by getting out and walking for the most conservative or candidate you like the most. For example, in the last Republican Primary, the candidates I walked for in my precinct got 5% to 10% more votes than they did in neighboring precincts. I walked for the most conservative candidates I could find, and although some won their primary, some did not. If more Precinct Committeeman are conservatives, and walking for conservatives we will have more conservatives running in the General Election.
You will also have the opportunity to elect the township party leaders and the county party leaders. Those leaders will have the opportunity to elect the State Party Chairperson, and so on. If you want to make sure the Republican Party Leaders are conservatives, this is the best way to do so.
It is almost time to start to circulate petitions for Precinct Committeeman. Starting September 6th, 2011 interested candidates can circulate petitions for Precinct Committeeman. Only 10 signatures are required, but I would recommend getting at least 20 in case any signatures are challenged.
Regardless of whether or not you have a committeeman in your precinct today, I would highly recommend running. The only way to fix the party is from the inside, and this is the best way to get inside of the party. Don't let any one from within the party talk you out of it either. Even if someone else is running for Precinct Commiteeman. As a Precinct Committeeman, I would not object to anyone running in my precinct against me. If they will work harder in the primary and have true conservative principals, all the better for the conservative movement.
There is no one better at making sure the best and most conservative candidate wins within the precinct than the Precinct Committeeman, and there is no one better for that role than you.
More information on election rules, sample petitions and more can be found at the following link. http://www.elections.il.gov/Downloads/ElectionInformation/PDF/2012CanGuide.pdf
One Day at a Time, a blog 20 years in the making.
Living one day at a time, it has been 7305 Days since I took a drink, February 24, 1991 to be exact.
I am 37 years old now, and yes that means I stopped drinking before I was to the legal drinking age. I don’t want this blog entry to be about war stories of my life before I got sober. I want to share with people what it has been like living sober for the last 20 years, and specifically a look back at some of the people I have come in contact with over the years. While I understand some people might find it interesting or even impressive that it has been 20 years since I last took a drink, I find it most interesting what other people’s reaction has been to me both before I tell them why I don’t drink, or that I don’t drink, and than when they find out how long it has been.
I first got sober at the age of 15, but relapsed a year later and got clean again at the age of 17. I was still in high school when I first started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. I was typically the youngest person at the meetings, although there were meetings at an Adolescent Treatment Center in the area I would attend some times. After finding out there were a few other kids at my high school that were attending meetings after getting out of “rehab” I decided to start a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous at the church that met weekly after school. The meeting was open to the public and a few people I knew from other meetings would attend regularly. I don’t think in today’s environment with the level of security at public high schools, this would be allowed.
Staying sober while attending high school was more difficult than I thought it would be. Staying sober for any alcoholic or drug addict is always a challenge. I learned through AA & NA to trust in my higher power, and to do God’s Will. Turning my life over to the hands of god every day was the only way I was going to make it. Unfortunately I soon realized I could take my will back at anytime. So after about a year of sobriety, I relapsed. I used to blame it on the fact that I was at school, and it was pear pressure, which may be partially true, but the bottom line is I had taken my will back from God, and I decided to use drugs that day when they were offered to me.
It was about a year of using and drinking again before I finally hit my real bottom. It was then that I realized if I wanted to make it, I needed to change my environment, and focus on getting and staying sober. I dropped out of High School and immediately enrolled in a trade school, and an “Early School Leaver” program that helped students study for their GED. I got my GED and went on to the local community college.
All through my early days of Sobriety, I was very open about being in recovery. People would ask things like “are you ever going to drink again” I would usually answer, I don’t know, but I am not going to drink today.
The other question I would get a lot would be “are you going to drink on your 21st birthday” I would typically say, I hope not or God Willing, I won’t. Well, my 21st birthday came, and I went to the Riverboat Casino with my family. It was nice, no big deal, no group of friends buying me drinks trying to get me wasted, just a nice evening out.
A couple months after my birthday, a friend of mine had his 21st birthday. I decided to go to the Bars with him, and a few other friends, and I was the designated driver. It did not bother me that other people were drinking. I did not give drinking a thought. I had a mission, I was the designated driver, but more importantly, I gave my will to God, and I did not want to take it back.
Over the next several years, I would go out with friends, I would be the designated driver, we would have a good time, and I would get everyone home safe. I did not think my early 20s were all that different than anyone else’s I just chose not to drink. It was good financially, obviously drinking cokes were a lot cheaper than paying for cocktails all night, and some bars even offered free soft drinks to designated drivers.
I than got engaged, and the questions from family and friends started up again. “Are you going to drink at your wedding” or “You’re at least going to have some champagne at your wedding right”. I did not even consider drinking at my wedding, in fact I told the banquet manager to pour some sparkling cider in my glass and champagne in my wife’s glass so I could still toast when the best man gave his speech.
In my professional life, I did not advertise as openly that I was a recovering alcoholic. It did not come up, unless it was an after work function. Once we were outside of the office, and out to dinner, or out for a celebration, people would see that I was only drinking coke and the questions would start “what are you drinking” or “why aren’t you drinking” was what I would usually hear. It was clear, people felt a little uncomfortable if everyone else was drinking, but me. They had to know why. Sometimes I would answer and get right to the point, other times I would be more evasive, and say “I don’t feel like drinking” or “I am not drinking today”. If I did not answer their question to their satisfaction, they would start probing, “do you ever drink” or “are you allergic” and things like that.
It was clear; people that did not know me that well, at first were not comfortable around someone who did not drink. When I would open up to people about why I did not drink, more questions would come. “When was the last time you drank” “why did you stop” “what happened to make you stop drinking” “are you ever going to drink again” and on and on.
Some of the people that knew me better would watch me, to make sure I did not drink. It seemed some of the people felt they needed to defend me, or help protect me. If someone in a group offered to buy a round sometimes someone would say “Frank doesn’t drink” to suggest that means they can’t buy everyone else around, or that I can’t say, “no thank you” if I was offered a drink. I certainly was, and am capable of turning down a drink that is offered to me, but it was funny to see people try to protect me.
A lot of people think because I don’t drink, I am anti drinking, and that is not the case at all. I have a fully stocked bar at the house, and am often offering to make other people drinks when they come over. If a big group of people go out for drinks, I often buy the first round. Recently, I was out of town for a friend’s wedding, and the night before the wedding we all went out to a bar. As soon as we got there, I ordered a round of shots from the waiter, and toasted everyone with my coke while they threw back their tequila. It is no one else’s fault that I am an alcoholic, so I do not think I should ruin their fun. As a matter of fact, I try to encourage people to have a good time, because I can tell sometimes they don’t want to drink around the guy who is trying to stay sober.
I have been blessed with the opportunity to speak to groups of people at many Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and conventions over the years. I spoke to High School groups as well. It has given me a lot back to know that potentially I could have helped someone else that was having a problem with drinking or drugs, or helped increase awareness of issues of alcohol and drug abuse that might be around those people that I spoke to.
I think I have learned a lot over the last 20 years. I think the problems I had early in life, helped teach me a level of personal responsibility I might not have found any other way and it has shown me how much I have to be grateful for.
I have a good job, a wonderful wife, and two terrific children. I am blessed to have the family and friends that I do, that have been supportive of me over the years.
I look forward to continuing to live sober, one day at a time.
Tea Partiers & Conservatives need to support Mark Kirk
Let me start by saying I did not support Mark Kirk in the primary. I was interested in supporting the most fiscally and socially conservative person in that race, so supported the person I felt was the most conservative candidate.
Now, we are eight months past the primary and only a month away from the election. I feel we only have two legitimate choices in Illinois. Sure, there are four names on the ballot, plus a write in candidate, but the reality is we live in a two party system.
I know that when in the Senate, it is likely Kirk will continue to perform as a moderate, but isn’t a moderate better than a Liberal, or a Socialist, or a Marxist?
This is going to be a very close race, every vote will count, and a vote from any conservative for anyone other than Mark Kirk is as good as a vote for Alexi.
So here are the top reasons to we need to support Mark Kirk.
1. If Mark Kirk doesn’t win, Alexi Giannoulias, the mob banker, who has been the worst treasurer the state has probably ever had, will be the next US Senator from Illinois.
2. If Alexi wins, and Harry Reid wins his race, we have at least two more years of Harry Reid as Senate Majority leader.
3. If Harry Reid should lose, and Alexi wins, we will likely have Senate Majority Leader, Dick Durbin, and I can’t think of anything worse than Dick being majority leader. Doesn’t Senate Minority Leader Durbin sound better than Senate Majority Leader Durbin?
I am asking all of my fellow conservatives, republicans and moderates, if we want to get this nation back to the right, we need to support Mark Kirk for US Senate. We need to do more than vote for him, we need to put up campaign signs for him, we need to knock on doors for him, we need to get him elected, because if we don’t we will have Alexi for 6 years!
And, what a message to send to the white house, that the Senate seat once occupied by the President, and once auctioned by our former Governor, is now occupied by a Republican.
Support Ramey, Millner and Roskam
Currently, in light of our Nation and our State’s financial situation and the current unemployment rate, many voters might consider voting out all of the incumbents. While there are plenty of elected officials not serving the people well, wanted to bring your attention to a few elected officials that are serving us very well.
First I want to talk about our State Representative, Randy Ramey. Randy has been a good steward of our tax dollars, fighting wasteful spending, and sponsoring bills that would save the state significant dollars. One of these bills he introduced would curb illegal aliens’ access to publicly funded programs; this alone would save the state $4 billion. Randy has also tried to reduce the burdens on businesses in Illinois to help create more jobs here in Illinois. Randy is also very accessible to his constituents, he is willing to listen to us, and fight for us in Springfield. Please support Representative Ramey in November.
Next I want to talk about our State Senator John Millner. John has been fighting corruption in Springfield, and has a plan to get Illinois back on track. His plan includes a forensic audit of the state’s most wasteful programs. He also wants us to have stricter residency and means testing for the state’s social programs. Senator Millner has also proposed the State of Illinois should have a 5 year budget plan which would build future responsibility. Senator Millner is fighting hard for the residents of the 28th district, and he deserves our support in November.
Finally I would like to speak about our US Congressman, Peter Roskam. Congressman Roskam has been fighting very hard for the residents of Illinois’ 6th Congressional District. He has been fighting wasteful spending in Washington. Congressman Roskam opposed the Auto Bail Out, the Wall Street Bail Out, the Stimulus and the Health Care overhaul. Congressman Roskam has been introducing common sense bills that will save American tax dollars. He is supporting a ban on earmark spending and drafted a bill that would save $65 billion in Medicare waste and fraud. Congressman Roskam fully understands the US Constitution, its limits on Congress, and the rights we as Americans have. Please join me in supporting Congressman Roskam in November.
Frank Napolitano
Those self serving RINOs
In America we have a democracy in which, We The People, are allowed to select those who serve us through the election process. Often times that process starts with a party primary. Whoever wins in the Republican primary should move on to face their Democrat opponent.
That should be the end of the story for anyone who loses in the primary, but not for a few self serving RINOs.
Take for example Lisa Murkowski from Alaska. She has clearly not stuck to the principals the Republican Party was built on. She had all the money, and all of the Republican insider support, but lost in the primary to a far more conservative, Joe Miller.
Joe campaigned on fiscal conservativeness and common sense, while Lisa just spewed rhetoric everywhere not offering anything substantive in what she had done or would do if re elected.
Lisa should have gone home after losing in the primary, but she has too much ego for that. She is now running in the general election as a write in candidate. She in no way can claim she is running to serve the people of Alaska, as they already voted her out once. If she wants to know why she lost in the primary, she only has to look at her voting record, clearly she would not be on the outside looking in if she stuck to the conservative principals of the Republican Party.
The apple does not fall far from the tree with this one either. Her father was a self serving self promoting Governor of Alaska before Sarah Palin beat him in the Republican Primary in 2006. Of course when Frank Murkowski was elected to be the Governor in 2002, he needed to appoint someone to fill his vacant US Senate seat, and being the self serving RINOs, he chose his daughter.
There is another example of a self serving RINO, and that is Charlie Crist, the Governor of California that has been serving himself on the tax payers dime since 1988. Charlie was a moderate at best, serving first his own needs, than the needs of special interest groups. He is a poster child for RINO.
Marco Rubio was out there campaigning on conservative policies and principals and good common sense, while Chuck was campaigning on name recognition. Rubio’s policies and principals were resonating with voters, and the polls were turning, and showing that Chuck was trailing Marco Rubio by 20 points. So, Crist did what any self serving RINO would do, he took all the campaign donations he got while fund raising as a Republican, and announced that he was running as an Independent.
Charlie claims he is doing so because he wants to serve the people of Florida. If he was serving the best interest of the people of Florida, they would have been supporting his campaign for US Senate. Charlie clearly did not get the message from his constituents, because he was not listening to them in the first place.
I blame these individuals for their self serving actions, but I blame the voters who elected them into their office in the past for their existence. As Republicans and as Americans, when we see someone who does not adhere to our own values and principals, and whose policies we do not agree with we need to vote them out.
I also blame the Republican Party who funnels state party dollars, and national party dollars to these RINOs, and then wonders why they vote for the Stimulus, Cap and Trade, Bail Outs, etc.
If the Republican Party held candidates to the conservative principals, and we as voters put policy before party we would not have Charlie Crist and the Murkowski family bringing our party to the middle or even left.
It is time to get the Republican Party back to the RIGHT!
