CONTACT:
Tom Abram
Press Officer, Prairie Greens
217.417.7118
press@prairiegreens.org
Walter Pituc
Champaign Countye Board District 7
217.819.1591
votewalter@gmail.com
Joe Futrelle
Champaign County Board District 8
217.390.2971
futrelle@prairiegreens.org
Mike Lehman
Champaign County Board District 9
217.344.5609
lehmanforagreencounty@earthlink.net
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, IL - Green Party candidates for County Board touted endorsements and organizational support for their candidacies. The News-Gazette endorsed Joe Futrelle, AFSCME endorsed Mike Lehman and Joe Futrelle, and all three candidates received organizational support from the AFL-CIO, including Walter Pituc.
On October 30, the News-Gazette endorsed Joe Futrelle for County Board District 8, citing his independence from the two major parties and stance for transparency and accountability in county government.
"I welcome the endorsement of the News-Gazette. Although we don't agree on all of the issues, we both want to keep the actions of the county board accountable and transparent to the voters," Futrelle stated.
Mike Lehman, District 9, received the support of the local AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Federal Employees), owing it to years of dedication to labor issues. Lehman was the coordinator of the successful Living Wage Campaign and grievance officer for the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO).
"I will continue my efforts to improve county services while serving on the Champaign County Board. In particular, we need to fill employment vacancies in the county nursing home with union labor rather than contract labor, which will reduce costs, improve working conditions, and ensure continuity in staffing," said Lehman.
AFSCME also endorsed Joe Futrelle, District 8.
Although the local AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the country, does not issue endorsements in local races, they have provided organizational support and resources to the three Green Party candidates for County Board.
"This is an incredible show of support from the labor movement. The Green Party strongly supports the right for all workers to unionize and to improve labor conditions. I am glad to see the local labor movement recognize our strong stances on these issues and look forward to working with them in the future," said Walter Pituc, District 7.
Prairie Greens of East Central Illinois
http://www.prairiegreens.org
Walter Pituc
www.votewalter.org
Joe Futrelle
joefutrelle.org
Mike Lehman
www.lehmanforagreencounty.org
Illinois Green Party
http://www.ilgp.org
###
