Seals campaign is far from grassroots

Dan Seals likes to talk about his "grassroots support."

He crows about his volunteers in the same interview where he, somewhat ironically, brags that he is importing activists from the East Coast to work on his campaign.

That interview is emblematic of the Seals campaign: He claims he has a groundswell of support, but all his volunteers come from outside the 10th District.

In 2006, Dennis Byrne reported the 10th District was awash with Chicago patronage workers and Democratic activists.

They were organized by the state party, met at Democratic ward offices and were dropped off here to canvass for Seals.

If Seal's out-of-state volunteers are any indication, his campaign will be back to its old tricks in the fall.

If Seals was drawing his volunteers from the ordinary citizens of the 10th District, he would be justified in bragging about his grassroots support.

But he isn't. His volunteers are patronage workers and activists, bused into our communities to interfere with our election.

They are the exact opposite of "grassroots."

Seals would be more truthful to say that he is running an Astroturf campaign.

Robert Johnson

Glenview