"Good guy" progressive, pro union Tom Geoghegan running for 5th seat.

There is, finally, someone in the race I can get excited about.


http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/tom_geoghegan_for_congress.php

Geoghegan has gotten a lot of attention at Daily Kos, MyDD, and Open Left as well. He is a great choice in what looks like a pretty open primary with lots of contenders right now. It is possible to win this contest with nothing near a majority of the votes, but I think it is important for progressives to get behind one candidate, such as Geoghegan, early on. There are two or three others with good credentials lining up to run, and if we don't pick a single candidate to get behind, I'm afraid our vote will be diluted in a wide open contest. This is an ultra-safe Democratic seat, so whoever wins the primary is almost an automatic winner in the general.

deadline is the 19th.
lots of good folks running. mike quigley is a good guy, although i think we need him where he is.
sara feigenholtz is good as well. she was a sponsor of the resolution to impeach bush a few years ago.

Quigley does seem good, I don't know anything about Sara F.

There's just something about a fresh political face that brings out the "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" thing with me plus he's a well known labor lawyer and author and I think he'd give the "good ole boys" who usually run things in DC something to think about.

His campaign and PDA are looking for volunteers to gather signatures here:

http://www.geogheganforcongress.com/

There was an article in the Trib about the machine guy running in the 5th.

I think the choice is clear.

talking about workplace issues. His book "Whose Side Are You On?" is wonderful.
I don't live in his district but I can and will send him a small donation.

night, too.

I'm a huge fan of Tom Geoghegan, and I also have the pleasure and privilege of being his friend. He's a passionate progressive and would make a wonderful Congressman. In terms of character, intellect, vision, and deep commitment to progressive values, I can't think of anyone I'd rather see hold elective office than Tom.

I'm closely following the IL-05 race on my blog, The G Spot, which you can find here:
http://thegspot.typepad.com
Here's an introductory post I wrote about Tom:
http://tinyurl.com/8u46n9

In answer to the question about petition signatures, apparently the deadline to gather signatures was extended because of the bad weather over the weekend. I understand there will be more signature gathering for Tom this weekend. They have more than the required amount but want some more for insurance.

If you're interested in volunteering for Tom's campaign, you can leave your info here:
http://www.geogheganforcongress.com/?page_id=38

I'll also be posting any info I get about volunteer opportunities on my blog. And if you have any trouble reaching the campaign, or haven't heard back from them, email me at kaygee0425@gmail.com, and I'll get you hooked up.

Btw, Tom's website can also be reached at:
http://tom09.com
When I was out getting signatures this weekend, it was much, much easier to tell folks to visit tom09.com than to tell them to visit geogheganforcongress.com! (Btw, since lots of people always asks this, Tom's last name is pronounced gay-gun. As I like to say, it rhymes with Reagan phonetically, but *not* ideologically.)

Feel free to email me with any questions about the campaign. If Tom takes this thing (and he does have a shot), it would be a huge victory for progressives everywhere.

:eyes: juvenile