I read on Billy’s blog that Jehan Gordon has her website officially up and running.
That’s cool. I always like to check out where the candidates stand on the issues. There’s one page on Ms. Gordon’s website about the issues. Here it is in its entirety:
Education…
As a member of the Pleasant Hill School Board and an employee of Illinois Central College, Jehan understands the importance of education. She will fight against the status quo and work to find alternative funding for our schools so that young people have a real shot at a quality education that isn’t determined by where they happen to live.
Jobs…
Jehan will work hard to attract more and better paying jobs to our area. She’s fighting to see that our area flourishes like surrounding communities with more economic development, more retail, and fewer abandoned buildings.
Access to Quality Health Care…
Jehan will work with other progressive leaders to improve access to comprehensive, high-quality health care services.
Regarding education, Ms. Gordon evidently feels there’s a positive correlation between the funding and quality of public education. In other words, higher funding equals higher quality, lower funding equals lower quality. But is that really the case?
According to the Interactive Illinois Report Card, during fiscal year 2005-2006, Peoria Public School District 150 spent $6,297 per pupil for instructional expense; Dunlap School District 323 spent $3,774 per pupil. Yet in 2006, only 59% of District 150 students met or exceeded standards, compared to 90% for District 323 students. With 40% less funding, Dunlap did 53% better than Peoria public schools. It’s also worth mentioning that the average teacher salary in District 150 is over $4,000 more per year than District 323 ($55,008 vs. $50,980, respectively). Something tells me that “quality education” is not determined by funding.
Regarding jobs, I found it a bit humorous that Ms. Gordon states she wants to “attract more and better paying jobs to our area,” then follows that up in the very next sentence by saying she’s going to make sure “our area flourishes like surrounding communities with […] more retail.” Retail jobs are not “better paying.” She doesn’t mention manufacturing or industrial jobs at all. Yes, I know there aren’t as many of those types of jobs as there used to be, but they still exist, and our city and state should be as competitive as possible to get them.
On a local note, I was pleased to see that Drumheller Bag Corporation from Clarksdale, Mississippi, decided to locate their expansion in Peoria, rehiring 50 former Bemis Bag Corporation employees! Drumheller is also relocating their headquarters to Peoria. We should be attracting more and more of these types of jobs.
Finally, as far as her stance on health-care, she wants “to improve access to comprehensive, high-quality health care services.” Thank goodness. That really sets her apart from the other candidates who are, presumably, the Joker and the Riddler. I wonder if she’s also for clean water and world peace?
I guess the bottom line is that she’s running on image, not substance. But I suppose that’s not a bad strategy because that’s what most voters respond to these days. Isn’t that why Schock is in office?
