Political experience doesn't always guarantee a win

If you compare Elliott Hartstein's political resume with state Rep. Carol Sente's, the difference is obvious.

Hartstein served on village, school and zoning boards since the mid-1970s and has been Buffalo Grove village president for 10 years, while Sente was on the Vernon Hills Park District board for four years before being appointed to replace State Rep. Kathy Ryg in House District 59 last fall.

Yet, the 61-year-old Hartstein was grasping for reasons to explain his loss in the District 59 Democratic primary in which Sente captured nearly 70 percent of the vote.

"I think there was a multitude of reasons," Hartstein said Wednesday. "They ran an effective campaign. Low voter turnout didn't help either."

The campaign was contentious at times.

When automated calls went out claiming Sente was a member of the National Rifle Association, she hinted Hartstein may have been involved, even though the calls were created by a group funded by House Republican Leader Tom Cross.

Hartstein slammed her direct mail pieces about his desire to raise taxes and stifle free speech as "distortions."

He said the "out of context" ads and the NRA connection also played a roll in his loss. Additionally, Hartstein said he was up against a well-financed campaign with many of the dollars coming from House Speaker Michael Madigan.

"When you have the backing of the Speaker and can raise that kind of money, it presents a formidable problem to challenge the powers that be," Hartstein said. "I knew I was up against Madigan money from the beginning."

At one point in the campaign, Hartstein had harsh words for Madigan calling him Sente's "political godfather," and saying Madigan and Sente should be "ashamed of themselves."

Could that have been risky and a factor in the loss?

"I find it hard to believe that cost me votes," Hartstein said. "The people on the street were saying it was a good thing. It didn't have a negative effect."

Those comments may not have hurt, but Hartstein's admission that he was open to a tax increase to help fill budget holes probably did, he said.

"The tax increase may have been a factor, but I was honest about that issue," he said. "I'd rather be honest than just tell people what they want to hear. Maybe that's not smart politics, but it was honest."

State Sen. Terry Link, the Lake County Democratic Party Chairman and Sente supporter, said Hartstein's openness about the tax increase did hurt. It wasn't the position, but the way it was presented that was problematic.

"It was more about the way he stated his position on taxes," Link said Wednesday. "It was very strongly stated."

But Link credits Sente's victory to her hard work, not missteps by Hartstein.

"It's very simple. Carol went house to house, neighborhood to neighborhood," Link said. "If you take your case directly to the voters, they are going to respond."

Sente, 48, agreed the street-level campaigning was a key.

"It was grass-roots. People got to know me and I got to know them," Sente said Tuesday night. "It was four months worth of door-to-door campaigning."

Reluctant to blame the weather, Hartstein said the morning snow didn't help in an election where voter turnout was so low.

"You can get a lot of people to agree with you, but if they don't come out and vote, that's another matter," he said.