Lifelong Dem once again voting for Mathias

I am writing as a lifelong Democrat to express my outrage over the negative and defamatory mailings and television ads recently run by Carol Javens and the Illinois Democratic Party attacking incumbent state representative Sidney Mathias.

Mathias is the only Republican I cross party lines to support. I support Mathias because he has the credentials, experience and principles to fight for the working families of our district. He has always been there for his constituents and has personally responded to my concerns about issues that are important to me and to our community.

I have lived in the area for 34 years and I am dismayed at the untruthful tenor of Carol Javens' campaign. Ms. Javens is running a smear campaign that distorts and misleads Mathias' record - Javens' sort of dishonest attack politics is not what we need at a local level. I think the caricatures of Mathias border on the slanderous.

At this time of economic turmoil, her scare tactics seem to be designed for shock value rather than directed at addressing the problems facing our families and our futures. As a Democrat I am embarrassed that Javens is running this kind of campaign.

This election, even though I support Obama wholeheartedly for President, I will once again cross party lines to vote for Sid Mathias for state representative because he is the independent voice for my community in Springfield.

Marcia Bass

Arlington Heights