She's a Republican! Yeah and....so what. I like Judy because she says just because she is a Republican, her views are not set in concrete with all other Republicans. And, indeed they are not.
I have always been an independent voter although mostly voting Democratic. Yesterday in the Illinois primary Monica and I registered as Republicans to vote for Judy Baar Topinka for governor. I've been watching Judy for a while since I noticed she has no qualms with breaking with traditional or popular conservative Republican thinking.
A graduate of the Northwestrn School of Jounalism, Judy became an accomplished reporter and editor. In 1980, Judy was elected state representative for the Western Illinois suburbs serving two terms followed by ten years in the State Senate.
In 1994, Judy was elected the first woman Illinois Treasurer and was relected in 1998 and 2002. She has over 250 awards including the Molly Pitcher Award and the Everette McKinley Dirksen Award for Outstanding Public Service.
Now Judy Baar Topinka is running for governor. She will face the present gov Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich has been to me a disappointment.
Judy has been steady in her public support of GLBT issues and people. She was instrumental in arranging finances for the new Center on Halsted, and is a friend and supporter of Equality Illinois, an organization fighting for equal marriage rights for gay people. Judy has been a familiar face in the annual Pride Parade for as long as I can remember... so Run Judy Run and I hope you Win in November.
2 comments:
Hey, Jackie....
Nice write-up. But are you sure she's Republican????
Yep Maria, she is. There are actually some Republicans out there that are not afraid to go against the popular conservative attitudes. On GLBT matters especially, she is very liberal. Hope she wins, and we'll see what happens. She really doesn't seem like the kind to back down or buckle under.
Fingers crossed. : )
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