We are the Steering Committee of the Edgewater/Rogers Park Democracy for America (DFA) Group. DFA is an organization founded by Governor Howard Dean and dedicated to progressive reform. We are writing to urge you to withdraw your lawsuit, which seeks to throw out more than half of the votes cast in the recent aldermanic election, thereby disenfranchising thousands of 49th Ward voters.
Your lawsuit claims you lost the aldermanic election through fraud. Yet you fail to allege any specific acts of fraud. On that basis alone, your legal challenge appears without merit.
What is even more troubling, however, is that while you say you wish to protect the right to vote, you ask the court to void the results in 22 precincts, which represent most of the precincts in the 49th Ward. In other words, if you were to prevail in your lawsuit, all votes cast in those 22 precincts would no longer be counted, and over half the voters in the last election would be disenfranchised.
This incredibly extreme measure runs contrary to every democratic principle. Mr. Gordon, if you have evidence of voter fraud, which we seriously doubt, we urge you to turn that evidence over to the U.S. Attorney, the Illinois Attorney General and the Cook County State's Attorney. But do not continue this attempt to deprive the voters in the 49th Ward of their right to vote.
We also find it extremely curious that the 22 precincts whose voters you seek to disenfranchise happen to be the same 22 precincts that Joe Moore won in the last election, a fact which underscores the blatantly political nature of your lawsuit and belies your claim that the purpose of your lawsuit is to see that "all the votes are counted." In fact, using such serious allegations for such a transparently political maneuver demonstrates a shocking level of contempt for the principles of our democracy and an appalling willingness to disenfranchise your neighbors for your own political purposes.
Many of our members participated as volunteers in the 49th Ward election, and none of us saw any evidence of fraud or misconduct on the part of election officials or Moore campaign workers. Instead, we observed many attorneys from the Cook County State's Attorney's office and many investigators from the Chicago Board of Elections, who monitored the polling places all day. None of these professional observers witnessed any acts of fraud or misconduct.
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the attorney you hired to represent you on your lawsuit, Michael Lavelle, is the same attorney who represents Protect Marriage Illinois, the conservative Christian fundamentalist organization that attempted last year to place an anti-gay marriage referendum on the statewide election ballot.
Mr. Gordon, these divisive, anti-democratic, right-wing tactics have no place here in Rogers Park and Edgewater. It's time to acknowledge you lost the election and move on. Please join us in uniting, not dividing our community.
Sincerely,
Shannon Fisk, Jim Ginsburg, Carol Levy, Melissa Lindberg,
Michi Schulenberg and Sandra Verthein
Edgewater/Rogers Park
Democracy for America
44 comments:
The continued use of divisive wordage such as 'anti-gay this' and 'anti gay that' are what's polarizing the community you fools.
It's no wonder two weeks after the election this ward still hasn't healed it's wounds. You DFA'ers are part of the problem by throwing more gas on the fire. Stop with the 'us vs. them' spin and maybe Rogers Park can start to mend.
Clearly, this organization has not seen all of the evidence that will be presented, yet they have gone ahead and pronounced judgement. Would they feel comfortable if the presiding judge went ahead and made his ruling before presenting all of the evidence. And what the hell does the attorney's prior actions have to do with this?
This is a simple matter. The evidence will be presented to a judge and the judge will made a decision.
This organization is welcome to its collective opinion, but this is a legal matter that will be settled according to our country's laws.
I would like to pose a question to the writers of this letter.
If Gordon withdraws his lawsuit, and submits his findings to the US Attorney, who then uses that information to remove Moore from office (assuming that there actually was fraud traced back to him), what happens next? Daley appoints an alderman for the ward, and no one's vote gets counted.
If Gordon withdraws his complaint, how are citizens in the ward going to be sure that next time, they are going to get a fair election. Fraudulant votes and electioneering doesn't hurt supporters of Gordon or Moore, it hurts everyone.
If Gordon's case has no merit, as you claim, then that will be easily handled by a judge in a court of law. From what I hear and read, it appears that Moore, poll workers, and others disinfranchised the 49th ward by not going about their duties in conducting an election in the proper way.
You call Gordon's tactics divisive, anti-democratic, and right-wing.
Divisive - Did you see the preliminary election results? There was a split down the middle. It doesn't get more divisive than that. Is everyone just supposed to forget that over 45% of the ward has voted against Moore for the past TWO elections? Gordon's lawsuit adds nothing to that.
Anti-democratic - Escuse me, we live in a democracy, and part of the rights of living in our democratic state is the right to seek a remedy in a court of law. To put it fairly, if Gordon's complaint is true, then it was the Board of Elections and Moore who have acted anti-democratically. If Gordon is wrong, then no one acted in an anti-democratic fashion.
Right-wing - Let me preface my statement on this point by saying that the only time in my life that I have ever voted for a Republican was to vote AGAINST Todd Stroger. I am a Democrat. To claim that seeking out the court system in order to secure your rights is somehow right-wing is what is actually divisive. You've actually stooped to the right-wingers level by trying to vaguely say this is "right-wing" just the same way right-wingers have done with the word "liberal."
By the way, nice job of name-dropping Howard Dean. I couldn't care less what Howard Dean does or says, he doesn't live here.
As far as I'm concerned, these people are just another group of gullible people who presently are of the opinion that Joe Moore's bowel movements don't smell. Those who have spent more time in the ward know better.
Abe and rogersparking said it all for me!!!
First of all, ABE, you are so right.
The rest of you DFA'ers should crawl back uner a rock from whence you came. You probably think Todd Stroger is doing a good job, JUST BECAUSE HE'S A DEMOCRAT.
Wake up and smell the garbage that we have been left with for an Alderman in this ward.
Last time I heard, in a democracy, everyone can be heard (but only once of course) This law suit has much more merit to it than some of the other frivilous crap floating around in the courts these days.
What are you afraid of? The TRUTH?
wow... This is why I can't say I am a democrat (or any party for that matter). I am sick and tired of groups and aldermen that represent me that don't do simple fact checking.
Gordon HAS to do this even if he loses, because the message needs to be sent that people do care here and we are sick of politicos.
Also the Judge would only throw out the election results if he found fraud, which would mean a lot of these same people complaining would be caught red handed. Just let the system do its job, that is why we have these laws. If we can't enforce them then where did our democracy go?
"Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the attorney you hired to represent you on your lawsuit, Michael Lavelle, is the same attorney who represents Protect Marriage Illinois, the conservative Christian fundamentalist organization that attempted last year to place an anti-gay marriage referendum on the statewide election ballot."
Dear Democracy For America,
Perhaps it should come as no suprise that the beliefs, morals and political leanings of a client do not represent, in any way, the beliefs or political leanings of those they hire.
Those of us who provide a service to the clients that pay us, cannot afford to pick and choose only the clients who fit into our moral, political and cultural belief system. Boy would it be nice if we could, but it would be business and financial suicide. Especially for a lawyer.
Imagine if a TV station or newspaper only accepted ads for products, services or groups that they personally stood behind.
By mentioning this, you continue to spin the racist, homophobic theme that has defined this election. Give it a rest because we are not buying it.
As a person who worked for Dean BEFORE DFA (Democracy for America), when it was DFV (Dean for Vermont) and DFA (Dean for America), I'm sick of the people who believe that they can hijack the organization for their own political purposes (it's Democracy, NOT Democrats...for America).
The philosophy behind the organization is develop grassroots efforts to supplant the "machine" of politics and get people and democracy back in the system...NOT to get certain people elected.
DFA should be screaming LOUDER than Gordon on this matter because the fraud that DID occur (and I DID witness it) is EXACTLY what the organization was formed to help fight.
So...DFA members...STOP supporting politicians just because they are Democrats or Progressives and START fighting to bring democracy back to the polis OR simply STFU!
Again, the DFA is trying to make the 49th Ward some kind of front in the war against Republicans. I am a born and bred Democrat and this disgusts me. Please stop using my neighborhood for your political agenda- I just want a decent place to live with less crime, litter, and people screaming in the night.
This is about a fair election. Is it Don's fault that Joe has a corner on the market for Democratic money with the machine money backing he gets? The point against SEIU is that the bosses there do not live here, yet they are impacting our Ward's government in a big way.
And it's kind of funny to say Don winning by disenfranchising half the Ward would be very bad, when that is just the situation Joe is in.
There seem to be many Joe supporters that do not want the neighborhood to improve. They want to keep us all down because they are afraid of being displaced. Well, how fair is that anyway? We can do better. Let's at least try to have a diverse neighborhood with a quality of life. Why must it continue to be either one or the other?
Add to the fact that over half the registered voters didn't vote, and over 40,000 Rogers Park residents didn't even bother to register to vote in the first place makes this whole election process even less democratic than a lawsuit itself.
Then to have a couple of 48th ward residents plead with Gordon to withdraw the lawsuit in a open letter. This is just laughable.
Sandra, take your little DFA club and go to Iowa for Obama and pester some farmers who buy their shotguns at WalMart, will you?
How was the "Open Letter" sent to Don Gordon? Via email, snailmail? Does this chapter of DFA have a website/email address?
YEE HAW. History lesson for all those Dean-freaks. Here's what happened the last time Dean's DFA was in Iowa.
Maybe Obama should think twice about allowing any DFA'er near his Iowa campaign.
love -
JOELYN COMENT- THIS SAYS IT ALL- WELL PUT-
First, thanks to Craig for posting this. Second, thanks to fellow neighbors for being independent thinkers. It is refreshing to see this. Many of you know me as a conservative, but I am no Republican and certainly have issues with Bush and Cheney. My point is simple: The dogmatic hypocrites at DFA simply do not understand that there are a lot of free thinkers out here. And that scares the hell out them.
all i can say is, puke.
I have no beef with DFA in general but the 49th ward DFA shares an office with the Moore campaign.
Jocelyn, you are just stupid, plain and simple. You bought a two flat on a busy street. No matter how yuppified Morse gets, it will still be loud littered and loitered. Please stop talking about a decent place to live. The people of Rogers park are not looking for your approval, though you think you can use the police to force it down our throats. Though your angry mob tried to elect a son of a bitch just like you to beat up on the community, as god is our witness we survived. This is Rogers Park, shabby, progressive, bringing up the rear and leader of the Big Box Living Wage Campaign.
Honda, this letter was sent via an html email blast. The email does not show a website but just an email address - Edgewater Rogers Park DFA Steering Committee - erpdfa@aol.com. If you're on Moore's newsletter contacts, you would have gotten it. His office doesn't have a strict privacy policy because they've also given their email contacts to Fagus' Democratic Party - 49th Ward.
The Moore camp's "smear Don" campaign obviously continues and is getting really, really old.
What in the world are these people smoking?
Has anyone done the math on how this election was purchased by interests that don't even live in the ward? In addition to the eye witness fraud accusations, I estimate that the Moore campaign spent $200+ per vote to win this election. What is wrong in this picture? What kind of leadership needs to spend that kind of money to get re-elected?
How can anyone seriously call Don Gordon divisive with the enormous divisions Joe's supporters have created with their classist, racist and now lesbi-gay accusations? Do any of the signatories even live in the ward? Or are they just another bunch of folks trying to tell the residents of our ward who we have to follow?
Democracy DEMANDS that this lawsuit proceed. Too many people got the feeling that the incumbent and his supporters would do anything to get elected... divide the community, trash a good person with false statements and totally inaccurate associations.
Don, thank you for doing what you believe is right.
Vanessa or whoever you are, that post of yours is asinine.
The only angry mobs were Moore's SEIU dudes and those nutcrackers from ACORN littering the streets with their racist bullshit. Let's not forget about Joe and Dave's election judges and the mob that came in Gale to scream RACISM when a voter didn't know her address, decided on a vacant building, & couldn't provide a current address without offering to go to EVANSTON to get it.
That's the second election I've participated in as a pollwatcher where someone from EVANSTON came to vote. The first one was denied for all the right reasons - the second was allowed to vote for all the wrong reasons.
Pollwatchers are going to be at every election in this place going forward so everyone best get accustomed to it.
Instead of whispering about the possibility of an unfair election or something fishy going on, a challenge has been made based on evidence. God knows, the cell phone posts on BH show plenty. Let the judge decide.
Unless we're not really a democracy after all. God knows, some 'leaders' aren't what they proclaim to be - progressive.
Amen Abe!
Oh God!!!! Can't we just all get along? This tension... it's eating at me... Vanessa and Jocelyn stop and take a deep, healing breath. Aaaaaaaaa
Toto - find a fire hydrant - better yet two, one for you and one for Vanessa. It must be all that tequila from the May Day event.
Joeseph Hart already pointed out how obviously fair the voting in the 26th WAS, this isn't about the Unions OR the elections, its about people who think they are decent while the rest of us are trash. Do you agree with Don chasing mischevious kids with bats and saying we should shoot the homeless, or do you just agree with the lies about the election because you believed the lies about Joe? All I care about is the living wage, these angry complainers would be easy to dismiss if they weren't so aggressive.
Vannessa and her ilk are part of the problem this neighborhood is still having.
Jocelyn grew up in this neighborhood and remembers when it was not a dumping ground for undesirables.
Sorry, but drug-dealing, gooning, shooting and mugging people, littering, and depositing your personal filth in public places is not an acceptable part of urban life, and isn't tolerated in decent neighborhoods.
I have never heard Gordon make the remark attributed to him regarding harmless homeless people, and can only say that it is easier to "re-educate" an intrinsically intelligent, decent, and well-meaning person like Don on the issues confronting our defenseless and harmless homeless people, than it is to incalculate civic values in the criminal population of this ward, or their apologists and enablers such as this Vannessa person.
And the bat story was greatly exaggerated by pro Moore racial promoters. But there's no reason to inform the masses otherwise -they wouldn't believe the story as it happened anyway.
Therefore, I'm 5'11", blond and have blue eyes.
For those who really know Don and have witnessed what he has done, the smear tactics will make it tougher for Moore to get 'street cred' if Schakowsky vacates. For those who researched, voted, and celebrated Gordons candidacy on Jarvis, we felt a sense of accomplishment in the face of machine ignorance. It is going to backfire.
This movement is a democrat thing. You don't peddle petty politics. The current nepotism and status quo incumbency trend has begun to reach historic highs. Where do we start? When does it end? When do politicians learn to "Move on?"
It is sad that a bunch of transplants and outsiders who spend a few hours, weeks or years in Rogers Park sell their 'funky spunk' about the challenger to lesser educated voters. On Incumbency. This does not smack of Mill!
These folks never had the objectivity to really find out who Don is and what "he" stands for.
Don's no Republican. It was great to see Harrington and the real heroes of Rogers Park stand tall at the run off. There was no better place to be to me than Jarvis.
As an attorney, I hope that Moore's depositions and testimony demonstrate to the Judge just what this guy did and that the Judge changes venue if he ever worked with Joe at the Corp Counsel's office or knows Joe in some other capacity. The arguable lack of credibility that Mr. Moore has demonstrated in the election echoed through his campaign lit.
As an attorney, I think that Moore knows how to tone it down when the chips are down. Ultimately, we are stuck with the lesser of the two candidates. Frankly, I would fear Fagus More. Pun intended.
Those who support living wages, which I do, have to be appalled at the way Joe Moore approached this particular issue.
Joe Moore's Big Box Living Wage bill is a deceptive, rigged piece of crap that feels to me to be deliberately devised as a "feel good" meant to accomplish totally nothing for most low wage people, while it would drive many large stores that we badly need out of the city, including old mainstays such as Sears, Marshall Field-Macy's, and the mainline grocery stores.
Why did he not propose a living wage binding upon all employers, including the small businesses that pay only the current federal minimum? The big box stores mostly already pay $10 an hour or more, so any reasoning person can see that this ordinance was only a shill to appease low-wage voters that would exempt about 85% of all employers and jobs.
Most of all, how could Joe shill for a "living wage" for a relative handful of workers, and not insist that the ACORN workers who passed out all the libelous little flyers be payed a living wage? These people were paid only $6 AN HOUR!
Joe's discriminatory ordinance would only have forced more low-wage people to take 3 legs of transportation to get to work in the suburbs, which too many poor workers have to do already.
Vanessa, what exactly are you fighting so hard against? Jocelyn has been one of the most fair and evenhanded voices in the Rogers Park blogosphere, and you attack her with vitriolic put-downs because she wants a decent place to live?
I don't understand how advocating for a safe, clean, respectful neighborhood can be twisted into such a negative thing. You need to do some serious reflection on who is REALLY causing this community harm. Hint: it's not hard-working, concerned citizens like Jocelyn.
Great comments and very heartening.
Except Vanessa...are you for real? There's this famous book "The Dictionary of Received Ideas" - I'm starting to think someone pulped it and administered it to you in an IV, you poor thing.
How about you stick to giving your own opinions (if you must)instead of putting false words in the mouths of others. Or would that take more moral courage than you are capable of?
Constant Contact is the vendor who sent the push email on behalf of DFA - but there's a problem. You see, Constant Contact has a strict "no spam" policy. That means if DFA didn't ask you for your email address themselves, then they have no right to use it with Constant Contact to send push email. Constant Contact has a no "third party" list rule. I just talked to Constant Contact recently for another project I was working on, and comfirmed these policies.
If you didn't give your email address to the Rogers Park/Edgewater Steering Committee of DFA in the past, please write to abuse@constantcontact.com right away and complaint about it - they are a good company and will take your complaint seriously. Hopefully they will refuse to do business with DFA in the future.
Sounds to me like Joe doesn't want this to go to court. Sounds to me like Joe is afraid of what they will find! Sounds to me like Joe is nervous!
Toni said...
Toto - find a fire hydrant - better yet two, one for you and one for Vanessa. It must be all that tequila from the May Day event
Toto says: You talk about racist bullshit. Toni, don't you think making reference to drunk mexicans and tequilla just a little over the top? Just do as I say, not as I do, hmmm?
> Just do as I say, not as I do, hmmm
Not at all Toto...go read Vanessa's post about tequila. She advertises directions to find her blog nearly everytime she posts - anywhere.
Since I'm not sure what race Vanessa is or if she really went on any May Day event, does not constitute your doggy spew. Thus the fire hydrants - one to raise a leg on and the other to cool off with.
But you may spin it as racist, what else is new - reading isn't required to spin.
Note to Ms. Hackett: Mike Lavelle is an attorney who specializes in election law cases. (There are probably less than a dozen of these attorneys operating in Chicago, and one of them moved on in April when he got sworn in as an Associate Judge of the Circuit Court.)
Lavelle was hired in that other case to provide legal assistance for them in complying with the provisions of the Illinois Election Code concerning placing a referendum on the ballot. From what I heard, the proponents of that proposed referendum should have hired Lavelle or some other expert in election law a couple of months earlier. Apparently they had made so many mistakes in the gathering of their petitions that no attorney could create a case for them to withstand a legal challenge.
That is what attorneys like Lavelle do... provide legal assistance in dealing with the multitude of provisions of the Election Code. (By the way, in my opinion Lavelle isn't even the best election law attorney around. I know that Frank Avila has bested him on a few occasions in the past. However, Avila, whose law practice is more general in nature, has been busy fighting the city on behalf of one of Jon Burge's police torture victims, so the Gordon campaign may have sought Lavelle out, assuming he had more time at present to devote to this case.
> All I care about is the living wage
When you live here, you can't afford to be a single-issue voter.
> Has anyone done the math on how this election was purchased by interests that don't even live in the ward?
Maybe some could use a review.
Who's Alderman Is He?
Joe Moore By the Numbers: Rogers Park Edition
Joe Moore: America's Alderman
Joe Moore By The Numbers: All in a Day's Work
Hmmm...if the precincts whose results Don is challenging happen to be the same ones Joe won in 2003, it may be because Joe pulled the same kinds of dirty tricks last time. People witnessed the same types of fraud. There just wasn't an organized effort to challenge it, so he got away with it. The same stuff happened in the election before that.
Hi Fedup Dem,
I am not knocking Lavelle, merely trying to point out that the clients hire him to represent them as clients hire me to care for their animals. Who I work for does not define my political values any more than it defines Lavelle's.
Vanessa, what's your beef with Jocelyn? Obviously, she gets under your skin - you post on her blog. If I didn't know Rogers Park as if an outsider, I'd say you have very low standards and expectations of Rogers Park.
Go Don Go!!! I wonder what Robert Creamer thinks of all of this.
Gimme my foie gras!!!
Personally, I think ISK-CON needs to declare martial law and a state of permanent Krishnocracy in RP. That would solve everything! (or not...)
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