Green Party gets into congressional races
The choices in two area congressional races expanded Monday with the addition of Green Party candidates.
In the 10th Congressional District covering eastern Lake and northeastern Cook counties, Navy veteran and Arlington Heights resident David Kalbfleisch, 28, takes on incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, who is seeking a fifth term. Wilmette business consultant Dan Seals, is the Democratic challenger making a second run for the seat.
In northwest Cook, western Lake and eastern McHenry counties, Iain Abernathy, 36, a Round Lake Beach retirement benefits analyst, will represent the Green Party in the 8th Congressional District race.
Abernathy joins Long Grove businessman Steve Greenberg in challenging incumbent Melissa Bean, a Democrat seeking a third term.
Kalbfleisch said he served in the Navy from 2001 to 2006, leaving with the rank of lieutenant. He served on a nuclear submarine in and around the Arabian Gulf during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he said.
He is self-employed as an owner/manager of rental properties in Louisville, Ky., where he grew up and attended high school.
According to campaign literature, his inclusion on the November ballot will "add breadth to the usual field of quasi-identical choices."
The Iraq occupation is an example of an issue in which voters have no real options, he said.
Election reform would be his highest priority.
"The election laws are written by the people in power to keep themselves in power, and nobody benefiting from this arrangement will do anything bold to change it," according to his Web site.
Kalbfleisch said he would propose legislation to force states to have only one standard for ballot access, rather than some systems, including Illinois, that make it difficult for independents or third parties to become candidates.
Kalbfleisch's candidacy in the primary was successfully challenged by a Lake County Democratic Party official as not having enough signatures to qualify. Abernathy initially sought to represent the Moderate Party in the 8th District race but was bounced from the Feb. 5 primary ballot.
Kalbfleisch said he would not accept donations from political action committees.
"I'm really not that concerned with the money," he said.
He'll be hard-pressed to rival Kirk or Seals in the fundraising department.
Last week, Kirk reported raising more than $625,000 from Jan. 16 through March 31, with more than $2.2 million on hand. On Monday, Seals reported raising more than $613,000 from Jan. 1 to March 31, with about $750,000 cash on hand.