Elect: Matt Varble
Tuesday April 7, 2009
Clintonia Township Trustee Candidate
City of Clinton and Clintonia Township
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President of WATCH Clinton Landfill
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Former Board Member of DeWitt County Regional Planning Commission
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Active member of the Wapella Christian Church
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Member the Clinton Eagles Aerie #593
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Married; Wife Raquel, 2 children Seth & Sam
As your Clintonia Township Trustee, I will work to resolve the issues currently facing our Township and to improve the service of local government. I will bring my prior experience serving on other boards and organizations to improve the openness and process by which our Township board conducts the people’s business.
On April 7th, we have a chance to improve the operation of the Clintonia Township Board. I ask for your vote to elect me as your representative from Clintonia Township.
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I welcome the opportunity to discuss your concerns and issues. I can be contacted by mail, telephone, or email.
9966 Northridge Circle
Clinton, IL 61727
email: mattvarble@mattvarble.com
Phone: (217) 853-3836
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Update 4/8/09: Thank you to all of my supporters who voted for me and also called me on April 7th. Unfortunately we came up short on the vote totals necessary to win the Township Trustee race for Clintonia Township. I pledge to continue to remain involved in our community due to the significant issues that remain ahead of us and will seek office again in the future to better represent you. As I have previously stated before I will not engage in or condone negative or anonymous campaign tactics such as the type that were utilized by the opposition during this race and instead will remain focused on what is important to DeWitt County. Thank you.
Update 3/29/09: – My Response to anonymous campaign smear literature sent out in Clintonia Township: Voters will be receiving a more detailed response from me in the mail. Essentially all of the speculation and issues brought up on the anonymous postcard is completely false and baseless speculation designed to distract your attention away from the issues I have raised during this campaign. Whoever decided to send out the anonymous postcard has also used a professional copywritten photograph of me that I paid for in 2005 without asking for my permission to send out.
While I don't wish to spend a lot of time on responding to this dirty camapaign literature I will briefly state in contrast to what the card says about me:
1. I am a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment. I believe gun control laws in Illinois in general are too restrictive and unfair to the law abiding residents of Clintonia Township.
2. My family voluntarily moved to Clinton since my spouse's family goes back over 5 generations in DeWitt County. We felt it was best for our family to settle here over 3 years ago.
3. My running for City Council in Champaign, IL in 2005 was a non-partisan race and I had no involvement with or support from the Democratic Party at that time. Thus to suggest I am an "operative" of the Democratic Party is false.
4. I believe property taxes in Clintonia Township are already too high and must be reduced. Part of my campaign literature has already been questioning wasted tax dollars.
5. I have resided in Central Illinois for nearly a decade and consider Clinton to be my home due to my family's strong ties to the area.
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Issues to Consider
Proposed PCB Toxic Chemical Waste Landfill – Clintonia Township Board Members voted against placing the landfill referendum question on the November 2008 ballot, giving off the indication that they actually support a PCB Chemical Waste Landfill being placed above DeWitt County's primary water supply - The Mahomet Aquifer. This is unacceptable
Lack of open government - Clintonia Township had to be served with a Freedom of Information Act Request due to their refusal to turn over common public documents such as bills, monthly meeting minutes, and the Township budget. Additionally the Township holds their monthly meetings at 9am making it difficult if not impossible for members of the public to attend if they are working. The Township office does not have a website, email address, voicemail, or even an answering machine and is closed on Thursday afternoons making it very difficult to reach the office. This type of conduct and lack of compliance with the law is unacceptable.
Wasted Tax Dollars - Clintonia Township Board members are paid $82 for each meeting. This is significantly more than the $58 DeWitt County Board members or other Township Board members are paid. The Township Supervisor is paid over $29,000 per year and the Clerk receives over $16,000 per year. This needs a much closer examination.
As your Clintonia Township Trustee I pledge to address all of these issues and work for the benefit of the residents of our Township.
Paid for by Matt Varble
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