Democratic Unity to Save Democracy in the Name of Anti-Voter Suppression
Democratic Unity to Save Democracy in the Name of Anti-Voter Suppression (Chicago, IL) — I’m of the opinion and belief that Reading is Fundamentally Mandatory.
After reading this Article by Greg Hinz, “Another Twist For The Valencia Campaign: Springfield Memo,” I’ve come to the conclusion in my assessment that her and her husband’s actions can cause Democratic Elected officials who endorse and/ or support her as a candidate in the Democratic Primary for Illinois Secretary of State could cause real problems in the 2022 and 2023 Elections.
These are quotes from what I read: Why are officials in New Orleans, of all places, investigating Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia?
“That’s the latest development in the tale of how official activities by the clerk appear to benefit her lobbyist husband and his clients—and how this might affect her in the hotly contested race for the Democratic nomination to succeed the retiring Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.”
“The latest revelations have already become campaign fodder, with another secretary of state contender, Chicago Ald. David Moore, arguing that they show “elected officials using their political positions to enrich themselves.” They also at least tangentially involve Mayor Lori Lightfoot, though her office says she knows little about the matter.”
“Others, however, kept looking, and a few days ago Mark Maxwell, a reporter for downstate TV station WCIA, posted a storythat went farther. It said that Valencia has “spent a significant portion of her time in office paving the way for projects that directly benefited her husband.”
“The story got picked up in New Orleans, where a company that lists Valencia’s husband Reyahd Kazmi as a managing director is involved in a nasty contract dispute, so nasty that emails mentioning Kazmi—and Valencia—have been subpoenaed by a member of the New Orleans City Council.“
“The company involved is named Ignite Cities. Its business is focused on “smart” urban technology that uses everything from kiosks to advanced credit-card technology to better connect citizens and their government. Valencia has used a version of that technology in her own office with her CityKey program, which offers a municipal ID to undocumented immigrants, a program Valencia has said she hopes to take statewide if she’s elected Secretary of State.”
“Meanwhile sources close to Alexi Giannoulias, the other leading candidate for secretary of state, say there’s a lot more to come out about how Valencia has used her office to help her husband’s private business.”
“One thing you can say for sure: Illinois Republicans are taking detailed notes on all of this. Valencia’s best argument against Giannoulias is that the GOP would dredge up damaging charges about the collapse of his family’s Broadway Bank if he’s nominated. Are Valencia’s emails enough to even up the score? We’ll see.“
Democratic Unity to Save Democracy in the Name of Anti-Voter Suppression
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