Mayor Brad Cole said Monday he would use his track record in improving Carbondale — from resurfacing roads to investing in infrastructure and youth job programs — to propel himself forward in the race for Illinois lieutenant governor.
Cole, who announced his candidacy on the Republican ticket for 2010 on the Citizen’s for Cole Web site, said he made his decision to run based on the lack of leadership and action in Illinois state level government.
“People are picketing and rioting because we don’t have a state budget,”
he said. “People are not sure if they can pay their light bill or take their kid to the dentist because their job is in limbo.”
Cole said in his six years as mayor, he has had responsibilities that could elevate his recognition in other parts of Illinois. He said he and the City Council have chipped away at city issues, eliminating the city’s portion of property taxes, investing in water and sewer lines and revitalizing the housing market by encouraging new development.
“We’ve seen more housing development in the last five years than we have in the last 25 years,” Cole said.
Mike Lawrence, former director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, said Cole would face many hurdles, such as lack of name recognition, and his fate might depend entirely on the Republican candidate for governor.
Governor and lieutenant governor run as separate entities in the primary, and then run together in the general election, Lawrence said.
However, linking oneself to a gubernatorial governor before the primary could cause rocky relations should a candidate he did not endorse win the primary, he said.
Cole appears to be a moderate Republican and voters would link him to a moderate candidate such as Kirk Dillard for governor, said John Jackson, a visiting professor at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
Dillard announced his candidacy for governor at the Williamson County Airport Thursday.
Cole said his intent is to run independently from a candidate for governor until after the primary election.
Jackson said he thought Cole’s experience as mayor would transfer to the office of lieutenant governor because both positions are in the executive branch.
“Clearly, some of the duties of lieutenant governor would be somewhat like being the mayor of a city,” Jackson said.
As of Monday, the list of candidates for lieutenant governor included Thomas Castillo, Scott Lee Cohen and Justin Oberman as Democrats from northern Illinois, and Randy White, a Republican from Hamilton.
Candidates for governor include Democrat Pat Quinn and Republicans Dillard, Bill Brady, Matt Murphy and Dan Proft, among others.
Citizens for Cole has raised more that $50,000 from January to June 2009, according to the State Board of Elections Web site.
Cole said he would be busy gathering petition signatures and fundraising for the February 2010 primary.
