Issues

Index: Publications Platform

Publications

My Pledges

Author: Tony Pomonis
Published 2 November 2008

I PLEDGE to reject payment for my time served on the county board. Simply put, I'm not doing this for supplemental income. If other board members were to follow my lead we'd save the taxpaying public of Champaign County close to six figure totals in 2009.

I PLEDGE to never vote for privatizing the nursing home. I believe that the "advisory" designation on the Board of Directors is a joke, and as such must be stripped away so we can hold management accountable.

I PLEDGE to keep taxes low.

I PLEDGE to represent my constituency with hard work, accountability, and dignity.

I PLEDGE to limit the power and scope of our local government as much as I can.

Re: Why does candidate have so many signs?

Author: Tony Pomonis
Published 15 October 2008 (Reproduced here due to the News-Gazette's one letter per month policy)

I would like to thank Alan Kurtz of Champaign for calling to attention the fact that I've never formally introduced myself (in print) to our community. Thus, if you haven't caught one of my interviews on the Channel 3 or 15 News, heard me talk on WILL 1400, listened to one of my speeches at community centers across the county, seen me at a County Board meeting, talked with me while I'm cooking at Merry-Ann's Diner or managing Taffies Restaurant, read one of my previous letters to the News-Gazette, or been among the over 5,000 residents of District 7 whom I've met or dropped literature off to: Hello!

My name is Tony Pomonis and I'm a product of this area. I attended Unit 4 schools and the University of Illinois where I earned my degree in 2001. Soon thereafter I opened Merry-Ann's Diner downtown.

The answer to the question, "Why does candidate have so many signs?" is simple: people believe in what I'm doing. They enjoy the fact that I'm running a positive campaign built on transparency, hard-work, and accountability. I appeal to a broad base of voters because I refuse to engage in the politics of fear. As such, feel free to vote for one of my opponents: they are all nice people whom I like.

However, I would not be running for County Board if I did not think our County government needed my help. If you'd like to engage me in further discussion on local politics, please feel free to seek me out at either Merry-Ann's Diner or Taffies Restaurant.

Oh, and by the way, about those annoying yard signs. I need more. The local GOP implored me to purchase 100, I actually purchased 200 (for less than $2000.00 before sales tax, thank you Woody Iles!) and I'm fresh out. If anyone would like to help please feel free to make a donation! I imagine I'll need another 50 to put up before November the 4th.

Johnson cast right vote on bailout

Author: Tony Pomonis
Published 1 October 2008 in the News Gazette

I would like to commend U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson for listening to his constituency and voting against the unconstitutional bailout plan of the credit markets.

We should not fear the ramifications.

Bankruptcy is a natural force of our free market economy. In this case, it will punish those who made poor choices and inflated certain assets for their own reasons.

"Ill-liquid" assets are simply that: junk that no one wishes to buy at inflated prices. Why should the multitudinous taxpaying public pick up the bill in order to pamper a select few?

The case for intervention gets even fainter when we consider that, according to a Treasury spokeswoman, the told and re-told $700 billion figure was, "not based on any particular data point ... we just wanted to choose a really large number." (Forbes.com, 9/23/08)

In truth, this bill was already illegal: nowhere in the Constitution is Congress allowed such broad powers.

I urge everyone to order a free copy of the Constitution from The Heritage Foundation's Web site. Soon thereafter, they can discover for themselves the limited powers our legislative branch was intended to wield.

If you're concerned, why not get involved?

Author: Tony Pomonis
Published 1 July 2008 in the News Gazette

American politicians are either immoral or principled only in a very particular sense. They are products of our free society. They are like us in almost every imaginable way--they are born and they die--they experience all of the inherent pains, accomplishments, and heartaches that life offers in between.

Yet they are regarded by the citizenry as a class of beings that are totally different.

This is wrong.

In our representative democracy, the power of the politician resides only in their ability to act on our behalf. It is not inherent, and it certainly does not last in perpetuity. Politicians are mere actors temporarily playing parts that are real only for us--they are the symbolic masks behind which we see our own faces.

If you disapprove of the current local, state, or federal landscape, get active. Volunteer. Share ideas. Run for office.

This sense of 'otherness' that pervades America is a lie that segregates us and distances us from the processes of empowerment.

Americans are increasingly living in compartmentalized, like-minded clusters. Whether these communities are liberal or conservative matters not a jot.

The trend is dangerous and un-American.

Our shared freedoms and dreams should unite us in civil discourse.

I have yet to meet one American that did not dream of a better life for future generations. If America is splintering into culturally incomprehensible, balkanized communities, I for one am proud to live in such an open and politically diverse arena as Champaign-Urbana.

Platform

Here in the Land of Lincoln, home of the nation's first Republican President, We stand today for the same core values based on freedom and democracy that Lincoln first proposed.

Champaign County can boast having some of the richest farmland in the world, outstanding higher educational opportunities, including one of the premiere research universities in the country, top-tier health care facilities, and a diverse range of cultural and economic opportunities. We seek to improve the lives of all Champaign County residents based on the following values:

WE BELIEVE in limited government

• Government should only perform those functions that cannot be done by individuals and private organizations.
• Government should avoid unduly interfering with free enterprise and free markets, allowing local businesses to stay competitive.

WE BELIEVE in fiscal responsibility

• Government must be accountable to taxpayers and act in a responsible and transparent manner.
• Government should have a built-in bias toward lowering taxes, allowing citizens to keep more of what they earn.

WE BELIEVE in fairness under the law, regardless of economic or social status

• Government should ensure fair and equal access to its institutions, such as schools and the courts.
• Government should ensure that an excellent education is available to every child and supported by all.

WE BELIEVE that private-property rights are the foundation of individual freedoms

• Government should defer to the owners when considering the stewardship of property.
• Government should exercise eminent domain only with extreme caution.