Froehlich challenger arises in 56th Dist. race
With nearly 14 months left before the general election, another Democrat is in and a Republican is out of the race against newly Democratic state Rep. Paul Froehlich for his 56th District seat.
John Moynihan, a Schaumburg attorney, is running against Froehlich in February's Democratic primary, inspired by a desire to fix the state's increasingly problematic budget process.
"There's absolutely no way it can go on as it is indefinitely," Moynihan said.
Meanwhile, Hoffman Estates businessman Aaron Muller has suspended his campaign for the Republican primary, finding himself without the backing and financial support already picked up by his opponent, Schaumburg Township District Library President Anita Forte-Scott.
"I still think I would make a great representative for this district," Muller said. "I am concerned that the Republican Party is coming to a gunfight with a pocket knife."
Forte-Scott has the name recognition and the support of the state Republican Party.
She said she sees her campaign as a way to give voters a better choice for state representative, whether she has a primary opponent or not.
"I'm still intending to run through the day after the general election in November 2008," Forte-Scott said. "I'm not going to stop and wait until after Feb. 5. When I committed to this, I committed to the whole thing."
Forte-Scott said she met Moynihan at Schaumburg's Septemberfest parade. For people seeking the nominations of different parties, she felt their goals of replacing Froehlich were similar.
"For people to have choices is the American way," Forte-Scott said.
But Froehlich, who never had a general election opponent before his recent move from the Republican Party, said he agrees with having more names on the ballot.
"It's more work, but it's probably good for the voters to have more competition in legislative races," he said.
Nevertheless, he said he knew little about his potential Democratic rival.
"I don't really know what he's running on," Froehlich said. "It's definitely not experience."
Moynihan said he'll be up-front about his lack of political experience during the campaign but felt he'd sat on the sidelines long enough on an issue he could help with.
His lawyer work involves mainly fraud and financial cases, drawing on his prior experience as an accountant.
"I'm not afraid of the numbers. I'm trained in the numbers," he said of his ability to get to a grip on the budget.
Though he knows Froehlich has the support of the state Democratic Party, Moynihan said he's prepared to fight an uphill battle.
"I'm reaching out to people who haven't necessarily been part of the organization," Moynihan said.
The 56th District includes most of Schaumburg and part of Palatine, Elk Grove Village, Roselle, Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows, Hanover Park and Bloomingdale.