Martin Ozinga

Dispatch From A Different Debate

Josh Kalven — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:51:46 -0700

Ninety minutes before the start of the vice presidential debate last night, a different political face-off took place at Illinois State University -- this one between the 11th District congressional candidates. The event wasn't nearly as dramatic as what took place later in St. Louis, but it did have some interesting moments. We've pulled together some brief highlights in audio format.

Here's Republican Marty Ozinga's opening statement, in which he leveled a preemptive strike at Democrat Debbie Halvorson, attempting to tie her to Gov. Blagojevich:

Internal mp3

Here are the first remarks from Halvorson, in which she emphasizes health care and veterans issues as her top priorities:

Internal mp3

In his opening comments, Green Party candidate Jason Wallace took a dig at incumbent GOP Rep. Jerry Weller. Referring to the fact that Weller was the only House member to miss Monday's bailout bill vote, Wallace said, "On Monday night, I felt ashamed to be from the 11th Congressional District":

Internal mp3

The first round of questioning focused on the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill. Ozinga described himself as "totally in support of this type of measure -- not because I like it, but because it's necessary." He went on to allege that Halvorson, who opposed the initial House plan, "thinks these kind of things will just correct themselves" and "doesn't understand the seriousness of this difficulty that we find ourselves in."

Halvorson quickly dispelled Ozinga's baseless suggestion that she favors simply letting the crisis run its course. "We need to address the root of the problem, not just put another band-aid on it," she said. "So we also need more banking regulations. I'm a little concerned that this bill does not do anything to help people stay in their homes. There's nothing in there that says you can renegotiate your mortgage." Listen to the entire exchange:

Internal mp3

For his part, Wallace proposed dividing up the $700 billion among the American people. He said this would amount to $23,000 for every citizen, which isn't close to correct. If you divide $700 billion by 200 million (the estimated number of 18+ citizens), it comes to $3,500 per person. Nonetheless, the crowd liked the idea:

Internal mp3

The energy discussion provided one of the more interesting contrasts of the night. Ozinga talked about the strain rising fuel costs are putting on his concrete company and said, "I would support a policy that pursues all opportunities for energy. Especially now, as a bridge to the future, and that would be to drill and drill everywhere we think oil is found." Drill everywhere there might be oil? Ozinga also made a passing reference to the need for biofuels and endorsed nuclear power:

Internal mp3

Halvorson clearly noticed what was missing from Ozinga's answer -- any mention of wind power. So that's where she started, pointing out the potential for this industry in Illinois and emphasizing the promise of "green jobs":

Internal mp3

Finally, the candidates discussed their plans for Iraq and Afghanistan. Ozinga was predictably vague, saying: "We should get out of there as soon as we can, but not until we achieve some goals relative to the security of that country and their ability to secure themselves." He offered no further detail regarding what "goals" he'd like to see "accomplished." On Afghanistan, he said we need to "get that job done," and if we're not "getting the job done" we must "improve and increase the effort there":

Internal mp3

Halvorson didn't offer a great amount of detail either, but was more direct in her answers. Echoing the Obama-Biden ticket, she said we should bring our troops home from Iraq "as soon as possible, and at the same time safe and responsibly," adding that our focus "should be on Afghanistan":

Internal mp3

This event was apparently the only formal debate between the 11th District candidates. The rest of their meetings will be forums conducted by local organizations or interest groups.

Audio courtesy of WJBC.

Southtown Star Questions Ozinga's Debate Cancellation

Josh Kalven — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:34:30 -0700

Today, the Southtown Star editorial board offered their thoughts on GOP congressional candidate Marty Ozinga's decision to drop out of the 11th District debate scheduled for yesterday. The debate was sponsored by the Southland Chamber of Conference and was to be held at Governor's State University with Star columnist Kristen McQueary moderating:

The real issue behind it all?

We're still not so sure.

His staffers spent last week finding fault with the event, and finally suggested the sponsor, the format, the location and the choice of moderator (the SouthtownStar's political writer, Kristen McQueary) were all part of an orchestrated attack. [...]

Attempting to sully, in one big stroke, the Southland Chamber, Governors State University and the SouthtownStar ---three of the biggest players in the Southland landscape - shows more than a big whiff of worry from the Ozinga camp.

While they lost a chance to get out a message on the issues, they did send voters a different sort of one: There's a bit of paranoia here. [...]

There are big problems facing Illinois and this nation.

Ozinga missed a big opportunity to step forward and show he's not afraid.

Voters deserved far better.

Meanwhile, the blog Peoria Story wonders if all the GOP debate dodging isn't part of a national strategy.

New Halvorson Ad Highlights Ozinga Health Care Comments

Josh Kalven — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:15:37 -0700

Democratic congressional candidate Debbie Halvorson went on air with a new TV ad in the 11th District this week, which highlights Republican Marty Ozinga's comments about health care on a public access program in July. As Progress Illinois first noted, Ozinga said: "There are very few people nowadays that have no health service at all. Almost anybody -- I don't care who you are -- you go to the hospital and you get taken care of." In the ad, Halvorson responds, "There are 47 million people without insurance. I mean, how out of touch can you be?" Watch it:

Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has highlighted these comments in their own TV advertising.

Ozinga's controversial health care remarks are also at the heart of the dispute over the 11th District debate scheduled for today. The Southland Chamber of Commerce organized the event and chose Southtown Star columnist Kristen McQueary to moderate. In part because of a column she wrote criticizing him for the above comments, Ozinga's campaign objected to the choice, dubbing McQueary an "opinion columnist" and likening her to MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. He subsequently withdrew from the debate. Halvorson said yesterday that she still planned to attend.

Ozinga Bails On 11th District Debate

Angela Caputo — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:14:47 -0700

If Republican congressional candidate Marty Ozinga hoped to stay off the political hot seat by backing out of tomorrow's 11th District debate ... well, he didn't do a very good job of it.

Among those quick to take shots at Ozinga this morning is his Democratic rival Debbie Halvorson. Her campaign manager, Brian Doory, released this statement today:

"This disappointing action speaks volumes about Marty Ozinga and his campaign. If he cannot even stand up and address business issues among his fellow chamber members, how can he expect to communicate with regular voters on the issues important to them?” [...]

"Even though Martin Ozinga is on the wrong side of the tracks on the EJ&E Acquisition, and so many other issues important to local voters, it's deeply troubling that Martin Ozinga lacks the courage to look people in the eye and tell them he's not on their side.”

Ozinga had earlier signaled he was unhappy with the set-up of the debate, organized by the Southland Chamber of Commerce. He initially requested that Southtown Star columnist Kristen McQueary be replaced as moderator because, he claimed, she holds a bias against him.

In today's press release announcing his decision to back out, Ozinga's campaign further argued that Halvorson "used her family ties to slant in her favor what was pitched as a fair forum by a purportedly non-partisan organization," referring to the fact that her husband chaired the Chamber years ago. The Halvorson campaign responded by pointing out that Ozinga's concrete company is a Chamber member.

Rich Miller's analysis is that Ozinga -- by repudiating the Chamber, McQueary, the Star, and Governor's State University (the location of the forum) -- dissed "pretty much everybody who is anybody in that region."

Debating The Debates

Josh Kalven — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:40:09 -0700

Lots of congressional debate news this week, so let's run through it all.

First, 11th District GOP candidate Marty Ozinga is complaining about the choice of Southtown Star columnist Kristen McQueary as the moderator of a September 25 debate between he and Democrat Debbie Halvorson. From a campaign press release posted by Capitol Fax:

It would be hard to imagine a presidential debate moderated by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. Similarly, we cannot imagine a congressional debate moderated by Kristen McQueary. [...]

We propose one of two options to rectify this problem: 1) for balance, have fellow Southtown Star opinion columnist Fran Eaton to serve as the comoderator with Mrs. McQueary; OR 2) have an objective news reporter familiar with the race, such as the Joliet Herald News’ Patrick Ferrell, to serve as the sole moderator.

Rich Miller effectively skewers the Ozinga's campaign suggestion that McQueary needs to balanced by a right-wing figure such as Eaton. He concludes: "What a buncha whiners."

Meanwhile, in the 6th Congressional District, GOP Rep. Peter Roskam has apparently refused to debate Democratic challenger Jill Morgenthaler. From a press release:

Morgenthaler said, “Peter Roskam likes to talk to voters in his pre-scripted 'virtual town halls' but will not answer the hard questions on his record or on the issues. I have agreed to every debate and joint appearance request that has come our way, and Peter Roskam has continued to hide. This is a critical year and the voters of the 6th District deserve the opportunity to hear where the candidates stand on the issues that affect their day-to-day lives.”

To date, Roskam, has refused to appear with Colonel Morgenthaler in any venue.

The release goes on to point out that, during his 2006 race for the open 6th District seat, Roskam accused then-Democratic candidate Tammy Duckworth of ducking several community debates. Duckworth did agree to four debates with Roskam prior to Election Day that year.

Finally, Sen. Dick Durbin and GOP challenger Steve Sauerberg have agreed to two debates: one on October 6 on WTTW's Chicago Tonight and the other on October 9 at Knox College.

Ozinga Supports Rail Deal, But With A Questionable Caveat

Angela Caputo — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:38:41 -0700

GOP congressional candidate Marty Ozinga decided this week to stop tiptoeing around a controversial proposal to sell the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E) Railway to Canadian National Railway (CN) and state his support for the $300 million deal.

But as the Southtown Star reported yesterday, Ozinga's backing comes with a caveat.

In response to local residents who oppose the sale because it would bring increased train traffic, noise pollution, and safety concerns, Ozinga will "amend" a letter that one of his companies sent to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) last November stating that it "strongly supports" the sale. In this amendment, Ozinga will reportedly stipulate that his support hinges on CN addressing community concerns by furnishing "underpasses or overpasses, or other means of securing the safety of the towns so freight traffic does not divide the communities."

That sort of concession would come with a hefty price tag, says New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann who estimates that it would cost upwards of $150 million just to build enough overpasses to ease traffic congestion in his 14-square-mile town.

"I don't think there's anything that CN can do that can make this acceptable to us," said Baldermann, who won this year's GOP primary for the open 11th District seat. (He dropped out of the general election early on and was replaced on the ballot by Ozinga.) "There's no way that CN is going to be able to mitigate all of the issues that the communities have. It would cost them ten times the price of the sale."

The Regional Answer to Canadian National (TRAC), a coalition of local leaders led by Frankfort Mayor Jim Holland in opposition to the sale, is banking on a piece of federal legislation for protection. This measure, which has garnered bipartisan support in Congress, would require STB to reject CN's application if it could be demonstrated that compromises to community safety outweigh transportation benefits for the region.

In an effort to contrast herself with Ozinga, 11th District Democratic candidate Debbie Halvorson is circulating a letter she sent to the STB on April 1 stating her opposition to the deal. Her campaign has argued that Ozinga's early support shows that the Homer Glen concrete magnate is more concerned about defending his company's "bottom line" than the residents and community leaders who have come out in large numbers against the proposal.

DCCC Releases Ads Hitting Kirk And Ozinga

Josh Kalven — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:28:52 -0700

Late last week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released two news ads hitting the Republican candidates in Illinois' 10th and 11th congressional districts.

The first paints 10th District Rep. Mark Kirk as a rubber stamp for the Bush administration who is "breaking a committment to Illinois seniors":

The second ad hits 11th District GOP candidate Marty Ozinga for supporting President Bush's tax cuts while his concrete company has repeatedly failed to pay its own taxes:

We wrote about and documented Ozinga Bros.' tax problems on July 9. Our initial post was followed by articles in the Politico and Sun-Times.

NYT Notes Ozinga's Health Care Comments

Josh Kalven — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 08:46:34 -0700

On Thursday, the New York Times published an article on the health care debates occurring in congressional races around the country. At one point, they noted the controversy surrounding comments made by 11th District Republican congressional candidate Marty Ozinga on a cable access show in mid-July:

When provided openings, other Democrats have attacked what they see as a Republican soft spot. In the open race in Illinois’s 11th District, for instance, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has distributed two mailings calling attention to the claim by the Republican candidate, Marty Ozinga, that health care is available to all Americans. “I don’t care who you are, if you’re sick or you get hurt, you go to the hospital and you get taken care of,” Mr. Ozinga was quoted as saying on a local cable television program.

Representative Chris Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat who heads the campaign committee, said Mr. Ozinga’s opponent, State Senator Debbie Halvorson, “is going to zero in on this like a laser beam.”

Progress Illinois first drew attention to Ozinga's comments in a July 14 blog post, noting that they echoed a similar statement by President Bush a year earlier. Both the DCCC and Halvorson quickly condemned Ozinga's remarks and Southtown Star columnist Kristen McQueary excorciated him in a July 24 piece.

Marty Ozinga Responds To EJ&E Flap

Angela Caputo — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:32:48 -0700

In a talk-radio interview on WJOL this morning, 11th District GOP congressional candidate Marty Ozinga addressed a controversial proposal to sell the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E) Railway to Canadian National Railway (CN). Ozinga has shied away from the publicly-unpopular issue on the campaign trail. However, as we pointed out yesterday, it came to light this week that Ozinga Transportation -- a subsidiary of his company Ozinga Bros. -- was as an early supporter of the deal. On WJOL, Ozinga offered this rather murky response, doing little to clarify exactly where he stands on the proposal:

Internal mp3

OZINGA: I have the same concerns as everyone else that's affected by this and that's that the issues and the impact of this be addressed and be addressed to the satisfaction and adequately so that the quality of life in our cities and towns that are along these tracks is not adversely affected. That's a big concern and something that as a representative for this district I have to work hard to, a, support the people and make sure that all these issues are addressed satisfactorily.

Capitol Fax's Rich Miller also pressed the Ozinga campaign for a hard-and-fast position on the deal and got this in return:

Marty wants the concerns of the affected communities addressed before anything moves forward. That’s his position.

Miller's response: "Clear as mud?"

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Debbie Halvorson has aligned herself with opponents of the railway sale and is capitalizing on Ozinga Transportation's support of the EJ&E sale as a way to distinguish herself. Her campaign is circulating an April 1 letter that she and a bipartisan group of state legislators signed which clearly states their opposition to the deal.

"Marty Ozinga is playing games with voters," Halvorson campaign manager Brian Doory said via press release. "Why does he refuse to put his mouth where his money is? Until he does, one thing is clear: Marty Ozinga is only representing his own bottom line."

CORRECTION: This post originally attributed the concluding quote to Halvorson herself, rather than her campaign manager.

Halvorson: Ozinga Supports Controversial EJ&E Sale

Angela Caputo — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:41:48 -0700

The controversy over the proposed sale of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E) Railway to Canadian National Railway (CN) has been brewing in the Chicago suburbs for months. A bipartisan group of suburban members of Congress -- including Reps. Melissa Bean, Peter Roskam, Bill Foster, Judy Biggert, and Dan Manzullo -- have voiced strong objections to the plan, most recently in a hearing before the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday. Apart from some suburban mayors, the only prominent Illinois politician to support the idea is Rep. Dan Lipinski. However, Debbie Halvorson's 11th District congressional campaign released documents yesterday suggesting that her Republican rival, Marty Ozinga, backs the proposal, which is extremely unpopular with many suburban residents.

As a candidate, Ozinga has so far been mum on the sale. But his concrete company is a different story. In a Nov. 1, 2007 letter to the federal Surface Transportation Board, one of Ozinga Bros.' subsidiaries -- Ozinga Transportation -- explicitly endorsed the plan. Here's an excerpt:

We understand that CN is requesting authority to acquire and operate the EJ&E West Company. We strongly support this application, as the combined company would offer improved efficiency into, out and around the Chicago market. [...]

We at Ozinga believe that the proposed acquisition will provide a significant benefit to both shippers and consignees in the Chicago area. Efficient, faster, and reliable rail service will assist in growing our business. Our company supports the application.

Meanwhile, Halvorson expressed her opposition to the sale at a south suburban public hearing last week, where she was joined by hundreds of residents who oppose the CN takeover because it is expected to triple train traffic along the line, causing increased traffic congestion and noise pollution. According to a press release from the campaign, Halvorson stated: "Canadian National's acquisition will have a serious impact on the day-to-day lives of local residents and families across this region ... On top of traffic congestion and safety concerns, the plan stands to threaten property values of working families who are already being hit hard enough.” An earlier public hearing in Barrington provoked a protest and march from 500 local residents.