Del Mar is running for lieutenant governor of Illinois alongside Gary Rabine
by Sean Morrison, Vidette Online
Aaron Del Mar, a Republican candidate running for lieutenant governor of Illinois alongside Gary Rabine, held a meet and greet Wednesday at Medici Restaurant in Uptown Normal.
The event offered free dinner and refreshments to attendees, many of whom came from Del Mar’s speech to the Illinois State University Women in Business student organization.
Del Mar spoke to WIB members about his experience as an entrepreneur.
Krystal Daniels, a senior international business major and member of WIB, felt the meet and greet was a good way to raise awareness for the campaign’s policies.
“It’s a good environment to socialize and a great opportunity to introduce the campaign to college students who are going out in the world,” Daniels said.
Director of Volunteers for the Rabine campaign Maria Miller said the focus of the event was to spread awareness of campaign policies to college-age voters.
“We have a lot of volunteers, all the way from high school to retirement age. We would love to see more college-aged people involved and learning about the process,” Miller said.
Will Pounder, a future ISU student planning on transferring in the fall, enjoyed the event.
“It was nice. Good food and a good talk about policy,” Pounder said. “I wish Gary [Rabine] was here. It’s weird to see Gary’s name everywhere and not see him here.”
Del Mar began the event with a short speech where he detailed the major platform points of his campaign.
Those points include a focus on public safety and crime control, access to meaningful education for all Illinois residents, government efficiency and consolidation and tax and pension reform.
He also introduced two local Republican politicians running for office: Jim Fisher and Dennis Tipsword.
Daniels thinks that Del Mar’s campaign policies were a step in the right direction.
“He has good viewpoints on public safety. It’s an important issue right now,” Daniels said. “Helping Illinois with taxes would keep people in the area and help local businesses.”
Del Mar said crime rates in Chicago and throughout Illinois are concerning.
His plan for education involves improving school resources throughout the state.
“We want to give everyone an even playing field. That means all-day kindergarten, affordable day care for mothers who want to work and giving access to the best techniques and practices available,” Del Mar said. “Education should be accessible to everyone in Illinois, regardless of background.”
Del Mar noted how in his children’s school district in Palatine, students have access to Chromebooks, a resource that is not available throughout the state.
He said increasing educational access would include making those same improved resources available everywhere.
Del Mar also said that areas outside of Chicago are a priority for his campaign.
“The rest of Illinois has great opportunities and amenities. Bloomington-Normal has a rich tradition of beautiful restaurants, entertainment, education and more,” Del Mar said. “We want to bring forth all aspects of Illinois.”