Illinois food-and-farm platform for gubernatorial campaign

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Debbie Hillman

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Jun 22, 2017, 12:15:52 PM6/22/17
to Advocates for Urban Agriculture
Hi, all —

I am hosting an informal get-together with Bob Daiber this Friday for Evanstonians.   Bob Daiber is running for Illinois Governor as a Democrat.  He is from rural Illinois (near St. Louis) and comes from a farm family.  He himself has had a career in education (first as a vocational teacher, now as a superintendent).   So I thought this would be a great opportunity to build more bridges between food and farm, rural and urban (and suburban), Greater Chicago and downstate.  

The purpose of the informal meeting is to talk about his platform, with the idea of adding something about food-and-farm.  We will also talk about other issues that are affecting the state.  You can see his platform, bio, etc., on his website:  http://bobdaiber.com 

Although this meeting is geared towards Evanston (and space is limited), here are some ways that other AUA folks might want to get involved at this point in time:

ACTIONS
1.  Food-and-farm plank for an all-Illinois platform?  
If anyone has any specific suggestions for a food-and-farm plank that Mr. Daiber might incorporate into his platform, I’ll be glad to pass them on to him tomorrow (and give you full credit for your suggestion).

2.  Future AUA meeting with Mr. Daiber?
AUA might want to set up an all-AUA meeting with Mr. Daiber.  He is very approachable and very interested in connecting with people all over the state.

3.  Oak Park meeting (June 24) 
Mr. Daiber is meeting with Oak Park Democrats tomorrow.  I don’t know if this is a public meeting, but it might be another option for connecting.

4.  Other food-and-farm platform discussions?  Obviously, Illinois food-and-farm groups in other geographies can also request a meeting with Mr. Daiber (or any other candidate).  The more food-and-farm folks talk to ALL candidates — especially early in campaigns — the more chance we have of re-framing our public narratives.  Especially if we have a unified platform ourselves.


NOTE:  I have not endorsed any candidate, but I have offered to help Mr. Daiber get connected to my networks.   I see Mr. Daiber’s candidacy as an opportunity to have more grounded public policy discussions than we usually have in Illinois.   He has a combination of practical skills that most Illinois candidates for political office don’t have — i.e., farming, vocational teaching, school administration, politics, collective bargaining.

If anything of interest to AUA members comes up in our Evanston meeting tomorrow, I will pass it on.


Here’s to some great statewide discussions about Food-and-Farm (and real democracy) over the next election cycle.  (Primaries are in March 2018.)


— Debbie



Debbie Hillman
Evanston, Illinois

FOOD, FARMS & DEMOCRACY
Getting specific about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness


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