Another salvo in the battle of the bad attendance records, this time from the Jehan Gordon camp. From a press release:

Gordon Blasts Krupa for Living in a Glass House & Not Meeting her Own Attendance Standards

PEORIA, IL- Candidate for StateRepresentative Jehan Gordon (D-Peoria) condemned her Republican opponent Joan Krupa for releasing information she knew to be false in an attempt to purposely lie to the voters of the 92nd district. In Wednesday’s release Krupa claimed that Gordon had missed 40% of the Pleasant Hill School Board meetings since she joined the board. According to the school board records this is false. Gordon’s attendance record show’s that she was at 11 of 15 regularly scheduled school board meetings. During her own time as a Peoria County Board member, during a comparable one-year period (the same standard that the Krupa campaign has used), Joan Krupa was absent from 25% of the meetings held between April 14, 1992 and April 13, 1993.

“It is unfortunate that my opponent has decided to ignore the real issues that the people of our district care about and instead released a statement that she knows is false,” Gordon said. “Joan Krupa has called character a major issue in this campaign but in the first test of her character she has shown that she is willing to lie to the voters in order to gain a political advantage.”

Last winter, in a personal letter to Gordon and again during Wednesday’s Peoria Chamber of Commerce forum, Krupa pledged to not go negative. One day later Krupa’s statement was released attacking Gordon with false and misleading information. Krupa’s campaign chairman Wednesday stated that missing more than 5% of meetings was an issue; he clearly should have an issue with his own candidate.

“When Krupa says it’s a betrayal of trust to miss meetings, she’s really talking about herself,” Gordon said. “According to the county board records Joan missed 25% of her own meetings in a one-year period. Joan is a hypocrite for trying to apply standards to others that she can’t live up to herself.”

A statement released by Bob Neal and Pat Carroll, president and vice president of the Pleasant Hill school board called Gordon a valued member of the school board who has dedicated her career to helping the students of Peoria county.

Gordon is the Democratic nominee for 92nd district State Representative. For more information, contact Jehan Gordon at (309) 673-9292 or at info@jehangordon.com

In a related press release, the president and vice president of the Pleasant Hill School Board defended Gordon. They issued this statement:

President Bob Neal and Pleasant Hill School Board Vice President Pat Carroll Regarding Joan Krupa’s Misleading Statements

On Wednesday, Joan Krupa released a statement claiming that Pleasant Hill School Board member Jehan Gordon has missed 40% of the scheduled meetings in her time on the board. This is a lie. According to our records, Jehan has attended 73% of the board’s regular meetings.

Jehan has shared with us that during her time on our school board that she has also worked as the student retention coordinator at ICC and often time her responsibilities to the students do not fall between the hours of 9am and 5pm. Her dedication to ensuring that every student receives the help they need in order to juggle their responsibilities of family, work and school is very admirable.

It is unfortunate that Joan Krupa has decided to try to divert the attention of the voters away from the issues that matter most to our families and has instead decided to run her campaign through false, negative attacks. After stating at the forum on Wednesday that she would not use negative campaign tactics, Joan Krupa immediately started doing just that by attacking Jehan personally and by lying about her record. I would hope that the voters of the 92nd district can see this for what it is.

Jehan is a valued member of the Pleasant Hill School Board. Her record of working with the students of our community both at ICC and at Manual High School as a volunteer mentor shows her commitment to the education system. The endorsements of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the Illinois Education Association, the Peoria Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Principal’s Association show the support and faith that those who work with our children every day have in Jehan’s ability to stand up for the students of our area.

Bob Neal
President Pleasant Hill School Board

Pat Carroll
Vice President Pleasant Hill School Board