$43,000 campaign price tag for District 204 slate
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=283398By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald Staff
By this time next week, four candidates will have been elected to serve on the Indian Prairie Unit District 204 school board.
For some, that nonpaying position may have come with a $43,000 price tag.
The Civic Coalition of Aurora and Naperville was formed to collect donations from member groups, including the District 204 teachers union, and filter funds to candidates supported by the coalition.
The immediate beneficiaries are members of a four-man slate of District 204 candidates - Doug DiFusco, Jerry Huang, Eric Hepburn and Donald Moscato - who have received a combined $32,450 donated to the coalition through the Indian Prairie Education Association teachers union.
The four men also have contributed a combined $11,000 of their own money, bringing their total war chest to $43,450, according to documents filed with the state board of elections.
Union President Val Dranias said Wednesday that the union's donation paid for three campaign fliers distributed on the slate's behalf and one telephone survey.
Coalition chairman John Driscoll did not return a voice mail or e-mail left for him Thursday, but Dranias said the coalition has been "in the works of forming" for more than two years.
Although the union's entire cash donation went to the four school district candidates, Dranias said she's upset about a perception in some corners of the community that the coalition was formed to shield the union from directly donating to select candidates.
"We're going to eventually get into a wider range of issues and different kinds of mostly local elections," she said. "But this is the only money we have so far and we spent it how we felt would benefit our interests the most. There's nothing sneaky or secretive about it."
As for the school board race, Dranias said the union extensively interviewed 10 District 204 candidates before "we did what we had to do" by offering its financial support to DiFusco, Huang, Hepburn and Moscato.
"Those candidates have a platform of transparency, accountability and quality of education in the district and safety in our schools and we support that," Dranias said. "And ultimately we hope to gain some new board members that will listen to our needs and problems within the school district and at least give teachers a voice and allow us to be stakeholders in decisions that are made."
DiFusco and Hepburn, the two candidates available to talk about the donations Wednesday, said they were appreciative of the support. Huang did not return a call to his cell phone and Moscato said he was "not comfortable commenting."
Hepburn said he "found it interesting" that he and his slate members have been "getting slammed in the press as being a rubber stamp for the teachers."
"I appreciate that the teachers are willing to support us but I am not beholden to anyone or any group as a result of their endorsement," Hepburn said. "I talked extensively with (the union) and I've been very clear that there's going to be decisions made in the best interest of the community and they're not going to like them all."
DiFusco, whose wife was the teachers union vice president until mid-December, said he believes the union can spend it's money any way its membership wishes. But he said he's happy to have the support after spending $7,000 of his own money.
"That was their choice. No one held a gun to their head and that's really the blunt way to put it," DiFusco said. "I didn't promise them a penny. My obligation will be to do what is best for the community and the district and I'll do a solid job for taxpayers of this district."
Dranias said the union's financial backing has nearly come to a close, save for some weekend "phone-banking" to members to build support.
Eight other candidates, including incumbents Cathy Piehl and Christine Vickers and challengers Mark Rising, Janey Wagner, Yuming Huang, Dawn DeSart, Michael Strick and Susan Rasmus remain in the race for the four 4-year terms in the district that covers portions of Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield and Bolingbrook. Another candidate, Michael Crockett, remains on the ballot but says he's no longer seeking election.
