Oh Yeah, There's A Third Party Here
By Kevin Robinson in News on Nov 6, 2007 4:40PM
With all the mudslinging in the presidential primary and the wrangling in the congressional races here, we almost forgot that the Green Party won a ballot line in Illinois last election. Unlike past elections, where Green candidates struggled to get on and stay on the ballot, this year marks the first time the Greens have had a state-wide ballot line, thanks to former gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney breaking the 5 percent threshold with 10.39 percent of the vote. Now that our primary moved up to February 5, the filing deadline has moved ahead, too. And so, at the last minute, a slew of Greens filed their candidacies yesterday afternoon with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Filing at the last minute isn't necessarily a sign of weakness: strategically, the less time that Democrats have to challenge the signatures needed to get on the ballot, the less likely they are to knock people off the ballot. (In the 06 race candidate Whitney's own signature was challenged.) And since the Green Party has a ballot line, they are required to hold a primary.
So who wants to run in Illinois on the Green Ticket? Fifteen candidates, actually. Here's the breakdown:
Jerome Pohlen and Richard Meyers in the 3rd Congressional District
Alan Augusten in the 5th Congressional District
Morris Shanfield in the 9th Congressional District
David Kalbfleisch in the 10th Congressional District
Jason Wallace in the 11th Congressional District
Rodger Jennings in the 12th Congressional District
Steve Alesch in the 13th Congressional District
Scott Summers in the 16th Congressional District
Vic Roberts in the 19th Congressional District
Antonne "Tony" Cox for State Representative, 9th District
Terrence Gilhooly for State Representative, 15th District
Rita Maniotis for State Representative, 21st District
Kevin O'Connor for State Representative, 41st District
Gerry Woods for State Representative, 68th District
Charlie Howe for State Representative, 115th District