Friday, March 26, 2010

Shelia Simon is Gov Quinn's Pick for Lt Governor

In Chicago this afternoon, Gov Quinn said he wants Shelia Simon to be his running mate. Simon is a law professor at SIU Carbondale, and more famously, the daughter of the late US Senator Paul Simon -- who served as Lt Governor under Gov Richard Ogilvie. That was when we could have a Lt Governor from a different party that the Governor.

Simon's selection gives Gov Quinn a downstater, which will help in that both Sen. Brady and his running mate -- Jason Plummer -- are downstate residents. Simon is also thought to help Quinn with the independent womens' vote, as some think Sen Brady's Pro-Life position on abortion will put off a portion of the women's vote. Maybe. But Gov Quinn may have also caused a number of those in the black community to tune out, as the governor did not select Rep. Art Turner, who had the second most votes in the February primary. In fact, a number of black lawmakers this week, said Quinn would suffer in the Fall election if he failed to select Turner.

As with so many decisions in life -- there are few that come without any downsides.

But Gov Quinn in Shelia Simon has a running mate that is going to be in agreement with him on the majority of issues. Quinn was also a huge fan of Sen. Paul Simon. At Lt. Governor, Quinn would tell and retell how he was the Ombudsman for Illinois citizens -- and note that he only knew "Ombudsman" because it was a term used by Paul Simon when he was Lt Governor.

While Rep. Art Turner is a classy fellow, and very well qualified to serve on a statewide level, it is hard to believe the Central Cmte of the Democratic Party of Illiois would now pick someone besides Shelia Simon to be on the ticket. Rep Turner however at this time, remains in the race and continues to say he hopes he will be picked by his fellow Democrats to serve with Gov Quinn.

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