County Republicans open new headquarters

08/14/2006

By John Holaway

Pontiac Daily Leader

Livingston County Republicans will have a new headquarters in Pontiac to canvass from for the upcoming November elections as they officially opened their new building during a ceremony Sunday that included remarks from a pair of statewide Republican candidates.

GOP candidate for attorney general Stewart Umholtz, who was the featured guest, Republican candidate for secretary of state, Sen. Dan Rutherford, and Cathy Michael, regional coordinator for Judy Baar Topinka's gubernatorial campaign, were among those on hand for the opening of the facility, located at 321 N. Plum St.

"I'm excited about our prospects in the fall," said Umholtz of the state's Republican ticket. "I'm proud of the team we put together. This (headquarters) is a great start. You have a wonderful facility."

Umholtz, who is the state's attorney for Tazewell County, noted his working relationship with Livingston County State's Attorney Tom Brown - who introduced Umholtz - and the need to meet those who will be working hard to get him votes in the county as the reasons for his Sunday afternoon visit to Pontiac.

"I have worked with Tom for at least the last 12 years over issues common to our jurisdictions," said Umholtz. "I thought it was important to be here in Tom Brown's county to support the opening of the headquarters.

"I've been trying to be in as many places as I can be," stated Umholtz of his busy schedule. "I think it's important for any statewide candidate or official to be familiar with all parts of the state because you need to be familiar with a wide variety of concerns from a large geographic area."

Umholtz stated his main reason for running for the office of attorney general is to conduct the people's business in the state in a manner ethically and in a manner they can be proud of, something he said is missing from the Blagojevich administration.

"I believe I can conduct the people's business in the state of Illinois in a manner that citizens can be proud of, rather than embarrassed with investigation after investigation. It's about doing the right thing and making folks who live in the state proud of the way business is conducted."

Rutherford said Umholtz was "very, very talented as a prosecutor" and that the counties of Livingston and Tazewell had to make sure they got as many Republican voters out as they could.

"It's a challenge to all of us in Livingston County to do what we have to do. We're going to do well for Republicans," said Rutherford. "In 20 days early voting takes place. We need to be really, really good at getting voters to the polls early."

The opening of the headquarters is a good start as prospective voters can find an abundance of information on candidates and the issues in the run-up to the election.

The headquarters will be open starting Thursday, Sept. 7, and every following Monday and Thursday in September from 3 to 7 p.m. Beginning in mid-October, three weeks before the election, the facility will be open Monday through Friday with times to be announced at a later date.

"We want to reach out to the voters of Livingston County and this is a good opportunity to have them come in and get information about the candidates," said Regional GOP Chairman Rob Foltz of the headquarters. "We want their input to be able to forward to campaigns, so they know what type of officials voters want for the state."

Foltz may be reached via e-mail at rfoltz@maxwire.net.