To the editor:

As I look forward to casting my vote in the upcoming election on November 6th, I invite Macoupin County voters to join me in supporting Andy Manar for re-election as State Senator from the 48th district. Being a longtime resident of Bunker Hill, I’m proud of the fact that our hometown is represented in Springfield by a committed, invested, and experienced public servant like Andy Manar.

Contrary to what his opponent Seth McMillan falsely states, Andy isn’t a career politician. Andy simply happens to be a politician who has made his career by promoting, protecting, and empowering the residents of his community.

Even before serving as a State Senator, Andy’s leadership as Chairman of the County Board was already beginning to stand out, particularly when the county began to face serious financial strains due in large part to declining sales tax revenues. In the role of Chairman, Andy carefully managed the budget so that the county spent within its means without compromising on the delivery of important services to its residents. This was a difficult time and Andy knew tough financial decisions would have to be made. With a sense of purpose, Andy got to work on trimming the size of the county board, skillfully negotiating employee contracts, and getting rid of costly bureaucratic waste. Throughout the process Andy showed he could work productively with members of the board from both parties. Most importantly, the end result was a balanced budget that benefited all the residents of the county.

Once in the State Senate, Andy decided to take on a challenge that many before him had tried and been unable to deliver: fair and balanced public school funding reform. With patience and gritty determination, Andy took the lead on a bi-partisan effort to fix the state’s failed funding formula. His promise to deliver better opportunities to schools in his district was kept when Senate Bill 1947 (which he sponsored) was passed last year and thousands of dollars in additional state funding began flowing to the neediest schools in downstate Illinois. In a new non-partisan report released last week, the new school funding formula has already put over 326 million dollars into these underserved school districts! These extra dollars are personal to me because my children attend Wolf Ridge Elementary School. Now I can send them every day confidently knowing they are receiving better resources and more opportunities for academic growth. In a way, Andy’s work is an investment in their future and the future of all our kids who attend the schools in our district.

In the area of health care Andy has come to defense of small businesses and consumers in our district. Andy recently worked on legislation to prevent powerful pharmacy benefit managers from reimbursing mom-and-pop drug stores at a lower rate for administering prescription benefits under Medicaid. If signed into law, these small businesses will be protected and have the opportunity to continue serving their customers. This measure matters since a large share of Macoupin County residents rely on the life-saving services of Medicaid.

These are just a few of the highlights of Andy’s public service to our district and it’s a record of his commitment to his constituents. That is why it’s disappointing to hear his opponent Seth McMillan attempt to distort Andy’s record of service. From falsely stating that Andy lied about his position on term limits (Andy does support term limits for legislative leaders) to falsely claiming that Andy was in favor of a mileage tax (not only does Andy oppose a mileage tax, he sponsored legislation to prevent such a tax from going into law) Seth McMillan’s lies reveal himself to be a man without integrity.

Advertisement

If we consult Seth McMillan’s actual record we will find a flawed candidate with a history of irresponsible and unethical decision-making.  As required by state law, public officials must declare any business relationships they may have to the public each year by submitting an ethics statement. During the 8 years that he served on the Taylorville School board McMillan never reported the more than $7,000 in no-bid contracts that were awarded to the landscaping company he owned that did business with the Taylorville School district. When his failure to disclose the government income came to light, McMillan claims the mistake was “inadvertent” and tried to minimize the seriousness of the error. Though McMillan claims as a candidate he would freeze property taxes, he hides the fact that while on the Taylorville School board he voted three times to raise property taxes, forcing families to pay more.

McMillan loudly boasts about being an “outsider,” as if using the word itself were enough to make him a qualified candidate. What McMillan is really highlighting is his political inexperience and incompetence for a position that requires great skill to work within a complex political process and more importantly, even greater humility to bear the weight of that responsibility. The 48th district doesn’t need an inexperienced, incompetent, and dishonest person to represent it.

It needs Andy.

Andy’s record proves that he delivers on his promises. I believe in his ability to continue leading the 48th district with honesty, integrity, and fairness. Join me in re-electing Andy Manar so we can get him back to work on improving opportunities in our community.

Sincerely,
Jameson Ramirez

Comments

comments