by:  Diane Benjamin

First – Thanks to my broad base of contributors who regularly send information they think readers need to know.  I can’t do it without you.  I also will NEVER disclose where the information comes from, unless the sender agrees.  And yes, I do have people inside government disgusted with how taxpayer money is wasted.  They consider it their responsibility to expose corruption, now they have an outlet.

This story came from one of the contributors.  It was found on a website FT.com.  http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/83610290-2cd6-11e3-a0ac-00144feab7de.html#axzz2q90tPuyQ

If you want to read the whole story, you have to create an account.  The story is about the government shutdown and talks mostly about DC politics, but somehow Mayor’s Renner and Koos are quoted.  The whole story doesn’t make a lot of sense and their quotes don’t really fit in the rest of story, but what Mayor Renner said is noteworthy:

The split among local conservatives helped elect Mr Renner, who says he is Bloomington’s first Democratic mayor since the city was founded in the 1860s.

So much for a non-partisan election!  I guess all the money poured into his campaign from local unions had nothing to do with his winning election.

The point is that citizens have a right to know who they are voting for.  The non-partisan label no longer applies, if it ever did.  There is no difference between the politics in Washington DC, Springfield, and Bloomington.  Self described Democrats should be forced to wear that label in local elections, same with Republicans and Independents.

Do the citizens who voted fort Renner know they voted for a Democrat?  Some probably did, others maybe not.

Citizens need to be able to base voting decisions on more than just campaign rhetoric.   We know better than to believe campaigning politicians.

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