A Peek Into The Campaign

Don't Forget to Vote!

2009-04-06T16:30:00.003-05:00

This is it. April 7. Election Day.

Sunday I was walking around with trusty volunteer Jack and we stopped to chat with a gentleman on Charles St. After exchanging some brief pleasantries he asked "I suppose you want us to vote for you, huh?"

"Not necessarily, sir! What I want is for you to check out the candidates, learn who they are and make an informed decision that you believe in."

He looked at me a little funny and we waved goodbye and headed off down the street.

I want the same thing for the rest of District 4. Read the blog. Read the News-Gazette. Watch the League of Women Voters candidate forum on the Champaign Government TV cable channel tonight at 9:00pm. Send me email. Call me. But above all else, make an informed decision and exercise your right to vote.

Thanks,
Matt

Downtown Parking Solutions

2009-03-23T19:34:00.003-05:00

Last election it was the smoking issue that made or broke the candidates. This time around it's going to be parking. Champaign, while in some areas it really needs it, doesn't like change, especially when that change is being fed into a parking meter.

With the opening of our new parking garage, we're stuck. We absolutely cannot roll back the $.75/hr prime rate. We're dependent on that revenue to pay for the bonds we issued to build it. But that doesn't mean we aren't without options.

Here's my proposal:

1) One of the main complaints is that the two hour limit isn't long enough. If you want to eat downtown and then perhaps stop in at an establishment for a drink or even walk around, two hours isn't necessarily long enough. Instead of shortening enforcement hours - extend the time limit to 3 hours.

2) Reward our seniors. Champaign's most experienced citizens have spent their whole lives paying taxes. They've served their country, they've worked, they've been educators, they still volunteer. Let's give a little something back. Instead of forcing them to feed meters downtown, let's sell them an annual citywide parking permit for $25-$50 dollars per year. This permit would be good at any meter in the city until 3-4pm. Buy it once a year - stick it in your window - and park without feeding the meter.

3) Business needs a break too. Make sure there's enough premium preferred spaces available for downtown business owners and workers at the Hill St. parking deck. These spaces are available at a substantial discount from what is charged at the hourly rate.

4) Rescind the City Council parking passes or restrict their use to while on city business only. I know I can afford to pay for parking now and I'm quite sure I'll still be able to do so if elected.

That's my plan. That's what I'll push if elected.

UPDATE: I changed #3 after I learned that the resident permit for the Hill St. parking deck is not exclusive to residents of M2. It is available for all downtown residents.

Kudos to Kierkegaard

2009-03-15T13:28:00.003-05:00

Søren Kierkegaard wrote "If you label me you negate me."

Think about it. By assigning a definition or a label to something or someone, you are automatically excluding a realm of other possibilities.

I was out this morning pressing babies and kissing the flesh (or however that goes) and approached a gentleman working in his garden in order to introduce myself and hand him a flyer. His first question to me was how I am registered to vote. I immediately recognized the trap he set up and tried to explain to him that the city council is a non-partisan body.

"I understand that, but how are you registered to vote?"

"Well sir, when I vote in the major elections I vote for a broad spectrum of candidates: Democrat, Republican and Independent."

"Sure, sure, sure, but how do you register?"

"Sir, when you register you don't declare any party affiliation unless you plan to vote in the primaries. But when I vote in the primaries, I tend to pull a Republican ballot."

"That's all I needed to know. Goodbye."

I can't even begin to tell you how disturbing I found this conversation. Not because I know that I won't get this man's vote (which is fine. This is why we have elections, in order to offer choices to the voters. It's only natural that some people will want to support me and some will want to support Ms. Dodds.).

What bothered me is that this man is intentionally limiting his choices based on how he views the parties. He is letting other people dictate his reality and determine his direction.

The city council is non-partisan for a reason. Determining the best direction for our community is a job that should never be a function of any party's ideology. It's a job that requires cooperation, vision, openness, common sense and fiscal responsibility. That's the way I see it and that's why I'm running.

Now Hiring

2009-03-13T19:48:00.001-05:00

If anyone would like to volunteer to help canvass neighborhoods and hand out flyers, please let me know. Any assistance sure would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Civil Unions

2009-03-05T07:37:00.000-06:00

Yes. Emphatically, Yes.

Chamber of Commerce Questionnaire

2009-03-04T16:29:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce sent out candidate surveys to ask opinions to various questions.

You can find those surveys here.

Additionally, the Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a meet the candidates breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn, on March 12th. I'll be there and hope to meet some of you.

Signs, Redux.

2009-03-04T16:26:00.002-06:00

I've got some yard signs out and many more are available. Also, don't miss the opportunity to put a stylish, chic and sportin' "Peek For City Council" bumper stick on your ride. Shoot me an email at matthewepeek@gmail.com and I'll get some right over to you.

Sammiches and Beer, or Not.

2009-02-18T08:53:00.006-06:00

A friend of mine told me she was talking about my campaign with friends of hers and mentioned that my views really are not all that different than the other candidate's. "Then why run?" they asked.

While my views really may not be too drastically different (and to be honest, who's are?) there are some important distinctions. Last night's council meeting illustrated one.

I meant to attend the meeting and speak against CB2009-029, but unfortunately I've been laid up with a cold the last couple days. Puffy red eyes and a nose with a higher gpm flow rate than the Trevi Fountain do not make for good TV. As it was, I sent an email to all the council members explaining my position and concerns but since I wasn't able to send it until 6:30 - I suspect that only CM Bruno, never without his laptop, may have read it before it was time to vote.

This is the text of the email:

"Howdy,

I had intended to come to tonight's Council meeting, but unfortunately I've got a heck of a cold and it's keeping me in. I wanted to let you know that I have some concerns about CB2009-029 and I hope you will consider them in your deliberations tonight.

Given the option presented by the LAC, to prohibit alcohol delivery by those establishments that have purchased a Class P rider, I would urge you all to reject this bill tonight until better guidelines can be proposed.

This bill is the worst kind of bill. It is solely inspired by one business (Fat Sandwich) that just wanted to try their business model here and was initially told yes, only to have that decision reversed when they came to pick up their authorizations. I have problems passing a law that specifically targets one business.

To the best of my knowledge, this type of alcohol delivery (together with food - but no provision for servers like with a CA license) has never been tried here in Champaign. There is no history to suggest if it will be successful or not and there is no history on the part of the other Class P holders to suggest that there would be regulatory difficulties. The opposition to this type of delivery seems to be solely based upon someone's puritanical fear that good golly, someone could get a delicious sandwich and a beer delivered to their home on a Saturday afternoon, or even a Tuesday night after they got back from a particularly long study-session.

It also seems to me, that perhaps given the current economic climate, that this is not the best time to be discouraging new and innovative business models. Thumbing our noses at potential increased revenues does not seem particularly smart.

Instead, why not defeat this bill and direct the LAC to establish rules that would regulate this type of delivery based upon certain delivery hours, pre-payment, and verification that everyone at the delivery address is 21 or over or is the minor child of someone at the address who is 21 or over? I was thinking verification that everyone at the delivery address is 21 or over, but then that would prevent me from getting a tasty sammich and a cold brew if my kids were home.

At the very least, give these two guys a chance and if regulatory problems crop up, then move to prohibit the practice later. America is supposed to be the land of opportunity. It would be a shame if Champaign isolated itself as the exception to this rule.

Thanks,
Matthew Peek"

I understand the city has an inherent interest to regulate alcohol. But let's face it, this decision is just plain mean-spirited and stupid. Thanks to the teetotallers of the Liquor Advisory Comission, those two guys never had a chance. As I said above, given our current economic situation and the budget shortfall projections, this is absolutely the wrong time to be discouraging new and innovative business concepts. Sure it's possible the situation could be abused, but if you never give the guys the opportunity to try, you might as well just hang up a sign on their door that says "Go Away. We don't want you here."

Great Job, City Council. Other than CMs Bruno and Pirok, you guys really blew it on this one.

Community Engagement and Commenting

2009-02-14T17:16:00.003-06:00

I am very happy to discuss with anyone any issue they bring to my attention. You can either leave a comment here or email me at the address on the profile page. I would prefer that your comments are not anonymous, however I will still answer them.

What I will not answer or even publish are comments with profanity or those that include name-calling or other inappropriate remarks. I do not have the capability within the Blogger software to edit such comments and therefore I will simply not deal with them.

Thanks.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs

2009-01-15T16:13:00.007-06:00

Right after filing my nominating petition the campaign business machine kicked into gear. Almost immediately I started receiving numerous daily postcards offering me a huge assortment of campaign supplies and services: signs, mailings, door hangers, pamphlets, calling banks, stickers, buttons and you name it.

That's okay. These are just legitimate businesses pursuing likely opportunities.

However, none of them were located here in good 'ole Shampoo-Banana. I want to do everything I can to spend my campaign dollars locally. More than that, I want to spend them in Champaign and not Florida. I don't know why but most campaign services seem to be located in Florida. Huh.

I got on the phone. I called around. I understand that most local printing companies can't match the volume and pricing of a specialized campaign servicing company. I got wild estimates anywhere from $75 - $9 per sign. This was simply not going to work, especially considering that I could order signs online for less than $2/ea (orders of 1000 or more) with an additional $.67/ea for the metal wickets.

Then I got in touch with Jim Murphy at Fastsigns. Jim is local and he's been in business here in some fashion or another since the early 70s. Jim is a good guy and keeps a nice clean shop at the corner of Mattis and University.

So today I placed my first order for yard signs and some bumper stickers and they'll be available shortly.

If you'd like one for your yard or ride or even both, drop me an email at matthewepeek@gmail.com with your name and address and I'll drop them off as soon as they're in.

Which brings me to another subject. As I pointed out above, signs can be pricey. I spent most of what I had collected and could sure use some more. Just click that fancy little paypal doohickey on the left there. I promise that every cent will go back to support local Champaign businesses.

Letters to the Editor, DUIs and Police Review Boards

2009-01-11T10:21:00.004-06:00

Today's (Sunday) News-Gazette contains an interesting letter to the editor.

A Mr. Doyle Fletcher writes in alleging bias in DUI arrests and sentencing on behalf of the Champaign Police Department. We'll ignore the fact the Champaign Police have nothing to do with sentencing.

The News-Gazette was irresponsible in printing Mr. Fletcher's letter.

A quick review of the Champaign Circuit Clerk's website shows that while it is correct Mr. Fletcher received a moderate sentence considering it was his first DUI, one must take note that this DUI was a felony DUI and he managed to get a second one (which was dismissed as part of his plea bargain for the first) while waiting to resolve it.

This is not a case of the Champaign Police Department singling out a person due to ethnicity or class. This is one person with a serious charge who has, as can be seen from his subsequent conviction and jail sentence for driving while revoked, continued to offend.

Shame on the NG editorial staff for not doing their due diligence before printing this potentially inflammatory and misleading letter.

Here is Mr. Fletcher's recent traffic offense history.

07DT364 DUI dismissed
07CF1060 AGG DUI - guilty plea
07DT396 DUI dismissed
07CF1182 AGG DUI dismissed
07TR14767 uninsured - dismissed
07TR14768 unlicensed - dismissed
07TR14769 improper left turn - dismissed
08TR21700 driving revoked

However, Mr. Fletcher's letter does imply an underlying question: whether we need a separate entity of some nature to review the work of the Champaign Police Department.

My initial gut reaction is to say, as others have said, that it is a matter of bad policy to let any agency investigate itself. However, that simple statement alone carries with it other questions. Foremost is whether there are any issues pending that demonstrate whether or not the agency in question is incapable of doing so in an objective manner. Currently I'm not aware of any. Obviously, if you consider Mr. Thompson's and Mr. Miller's videotaping cases, there were some concerns in the past but those have since been resolved.

That leads us to the next two questions which are:

In the event of a demonstrated inability to investigate and police themselves, is there a backup system?

And:

If they were not to investigate themselves, who would?

To answer the first question, I do not believe there is a demonstrated inability to police themselves. Through its Professional Standards office the City of Champaign Police Department maintains a continuous improvement process whereby they are constantly evaluating their own actions and implementing training solutions to correct any actions they see as deficient. Report forms to document unsatisfactory behavior on the part of individual officers are readily available to members of the public and easy to file. A summary of daily police reports is available on the internet so citizens can evaluate where officers are called to respond. But, in the event these processes aren't open or clear enough, the immediate fallback system is the Champaign County States' Attorney's Office. While this might have been a serious concern under the previous office holder, since taking over the office Ms. Rietz' management has been exemplary. The other fallback system is the Champaign City Council which has a demonstrated history of responsiveness to citizens' legitimate concerns.

Hopefully, you've found the answer to the second question within the answer to the first. Ideally, were the police to demonstrate they could not functionally and impartially investigate and correct their own deficits then the office of the States' Attorney or the City Council should be able to step in. I think previously there were legitimate concerns centered on the time period when the States' Attorney's office was arguably broken and perhaps incapable of assuming any impartial supervisory role. However, those concerns are since past.

Lastly, the question must come around to whether or not I, if elected to the Council, would support the creation of a separate Police Review Board. Currently, I have every confidence in Chief Finney and the outstanding men and women of the Champaign Police Department. I have every confidence in Ms. Rietz and the assistants in her office. Under our current situation I do not believe such a board is necessary as the underlying accusation in Mr. Fletcher's letter implies. However, were I to lose my current level of trust in these key individuals, I would certainly be open to exploring whatever options the City Council may find at its disposal.

Fundraising

2009-01-06T17:17:00.008-06:00

If you're so inclined, please send campaign contributions to:

Citizens for Matthew Peek
1739 Westhaven Dr.
Champaign, IL 61820

Or you can donate through Paypal by clicking the link at the left. The campaign will also be really happy to accept your contributions of cash, checks, luxury yachts or spare krugerrands.

Thanks.

*the inclusion of the I've Got My Mind Set On You video is not intended or meant to imply in any way that George Harrison, were he not deceased, endorses or would endorse this candidate.

Beginnings

2009-01-01T10:39:00.000-06:00

Well, I suppose everyone must start somewhere. I started collecting signatures in November, filed my nominating petition by the deadline and was not challenged. Hence, I'm on the ballot as a candidate for City Council Member District 4, City of Champaign, Illinois.

I've been interested in holding office and serving this community for some time now, and decided (unlike the Cubs) that this was the year.

Since moving here with Rhonda and the kids in August of '00, I've enjoyed living in Champaign-Urbana better than any other place I've lived, from tiny Plattsmouth, Nebraska (Pop. 5800), to Dallas, Texas and its many millions. Champaign is a perfect fit for us. We love its small town flavor, cultural amenities, and the lively campustown. More than anything, we love the people of Champaign and Central Illinois. There's a fantastic diversity here: rich in talent, history and opinion. At this time in our lives we find ourselves deeply fulfilled by the relationships we share with our friends, neighbors and associates throughout the area.

Now, just because I'm happy doesn't mean we can't work for improvement. There's always some way in which we can better our own lives and tailor our municipal structures and mechanisms for a closer fit to our lifestyles while also looking to the future to try to anticipate what our needs will be in five, ten or twenty years. This is where I believe I can serve.

I have a progressive vision for Champaign. We've started on the path to building an Enterprise City and I'd like to continue down that path. We've enjoyed the benefits of strong business growth and we need to seek ways to continue to foster businesses, especially considering our current economic challenges. We need to create those structures within our community that will allow us to be competitive when working to attract more world-class businesses. We need to show that we have the systems and amenities to support modern lifestyles within the framework of the unique flavor of our historic community.

Some of our growth has not been wisely managed and has created other issues. Traffic flow on North Prospect is less than ideal and continued retail growth in that part of the city has come at the expense of empty storefronts in other areas. New housing expansion, while still controlled and currently restrained by market forces, threatens to glut older residential areas if not closely managed. I'm a strong proponent of infill and redevelopment as opposed to constant new construction. I favor rewards and incentives for those who invest in improving and revitalizing existing structures. I favor mass transit and alternative forms of transportation when these modes of travel are designed to serve the needs of the community getting people where they need to go but without being wasteful. Public transportation can also be used as an effective tool to distribute growth to areas it is needed.

Champaign enjoys close relationships with our neighboring communities. We can capitalize on these relationships and perhaps strengthen them in ways that will help us eliminate redundancies in administrative systems while maintaining delivery of services and producing either a cost savings or allowing us to improve or expand those services without an additional burden to taxpayers. We can look to combining services like fire protection and public works and park districts to provide a more even appearance and distribution across our growing "Prairie-Plex".

While we strengthen these relationships, we can also look to improve our own independent systems. There are many perks we can allow in a growing economy that beg the question of appropriateness while the rest of the community is starting to tighten its belts. More directly put, we simply can't tell citizens to give more to the city so that municipal employees can continue to enjoy the use of city owned vehicles while the rest of the population is increasing its consumption of Mac-n-Cheese and Tuna Helper.

These are large issues to be sure and while they are important, they can't be overwhelming. They can't be allowed to supercede those details that affect our daily lives: simple details like billboards, bike paths, sidewalks and parking meters that impact our immediate experience and quality of life.

This is my basic road map. It's an extremely rough draft of the plan I believe we all share together. I'd be pleased to be your councilman and work with you towards achieving our best possible future. In the spirit of sharing this journey, I created this blog. I will share my thoughts and experiences on the campaign trail with you and I hope you'll share your viewpoints with me.

Thank you.