FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alexa Lopez or Katie Carlson
P: 812-340-2717
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Former Bloomington Democratic Mayor Tomilea Allison today endorsed Shelli Yoder for the 9th District congressional seat. Allison, the first women to be elected to the position, was mayor from 1983 to 1995. Allison also co-founded the Community Development Conference and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in Bloomington as well as Citizens for Good Government and Verify the Vote in Monroe County.
“I see in her the proverbial breath of fresh air, and more. She knows and cares a great deal, as is evidenced by her use of volunteers, and she is supremely willing to listen,” said Allison. “She is not a career politician, but a citizen who was finally driven to action out of frustration with self-serving “representatives” heedless of the vital needs of their constituents.”
Allison has a history of motivating volunteers, from her time served as mayor to her community work in the 15 years before she was elected to office. “All of my campaigns owed their success to volunteers,” said Allison. As the Mayor of Bloomington, she encouraged her staff to help them in their endeavors and listen to them in their advocacy. “Volunteers make for a vibrant, healthy community and are a valuable civic resource; well informed of local needs, they can be highly effective participants in the solution of local problems. When do citizens volunteer? When they know they can make a difference,” said Allison. “My own experience convinced me that an active citizenry makes a healthy community. They make a healthy nation.”
Allison also mentioned the great impact a small donation can make in a campaign as well as the prevalence of large monetary donations in politics. “Super PACs, thanks to the flood of negative political ads on television, help to make our citizens politically passive,” said Allison. “Attack ads turn citizens off, leave them wondering who to believe, and tend to discourage voting. The massive expenditures that are now commonplace threaten to corrupt our political system beyond repair. Anonymous Super-PAC money selects candidates and elects to Congress “representatives” who have little effective contact with ordinary citizens and their day-to-day struggles.” Allison said many small donations and volunteers can counteract this “insidious influence.” “How many of us would do what Shelli did?” asked Allison. “She decided to run for Congress! If she can do that, isn’t it time for us to help Shelli Yoder to help us?”
Yoder’s other key issues in this campaign are creating jobs and expanding economic opportunity for all Hoosier families. Her plan includes increased opportunities for worker training, funding for health-research initiatives, and investing in infrastructure and green technologies. Yoder is running to unseat Todd Young in the general election on November 6, 2012. For more information on Yoder’s candidacy, please go to www.shelliyoderforcongress.com.
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Tomi Allison, Former Mayor of Bloomington, Endorses Shelli Yoder for Congress
