Rich Whitney is the Green Party candidate for governor in Illinois. In 2006 he ran and got over 10% of the vote. He is now accusing the Democratic state comptroller – who is eying the governor’s seat – of unethical fundraising practices.
A press release from Rich Whitney’s gubernatorial campaign:
Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for Governor, welcomed potential rival Dan Hynes into the race for governor, but noted that he will make an issue of Hynes' fundraising practices, which are not very different from those of ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich. "We've had two governors in a row brought down by scandals that directly involved campaign contributions," said Whitney, an attorney from Carbondale. "Despite these recent ethical scandals, Hynes continues the practice of taking large campaign donations from corporations and industries that as governor he may one day regulate." According to his most recent filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections, Hynes accepted $386,572 in contributors from individuals and businesses, including everything from banks and financial services companies to major industrial polluters like energy firm Midwest Generation. He took an additional $483,370 in PAC money from special interest groups. Hynes, who is currently the state's comptroller, officially announced his campaign for governor yesterday. "Voters have to make the call, do we want another governor under the influence of corporate campaign contributions, or do we want a clean slate?" said Whitney, noting that he and other Green Party candidates do not accept donations from corporations and other businesses.
Rich Whitney ran a great campaign in 2006. He got 10% of the vote in spite of spending less than $100,000 and facing a frivolous challenge to the Illinois Greens’ petitions.
Phil Huckelberry, who has been smeared as a “Demo-Green” by sectarian elements in the Green Party, did a great job as the petition coordinator and in fighting off the Democrats’ challenge. The Illinois Greens collected 39,400 signatures in an all-volunteer petition drive in 90 days.
Phil declined to seek re-election to the National Party’s Steering Committee so that he could lead Rich’s 2010 campaign. The Illinois Greens are emerging as their state’s alternative to the duopoly.