Letter: Record to run on

In his letter on Feb. 1, Drew Thomas incorrectly claims that Urbana Mayor Tod Satterthwaite takes credit for other people’s accomplishments. Thomas argues that Satterthwaite doesn’t deserve any credit for opposing Illinois Power’s reckless tree-cutting proposal or expanding Urbana’s recycling program to include residential apartments.

There were at least two organized local efforts opposing Illinois Power’s tree-cutting plan. Laura Huth and others organized citizen opposition, and Satterthwaite was a leader in government opposition to Illinois Power. Satterthwaite teamed up with city officials from Galesburg, Champaign and Normal to pool government resources and fight Illinois Power’s plan. The successful result was legislation sponsored by State Sen. Dan Rutherford that requires power companies to coordinate with cities on tree-trimming practices.

Satterthwaite has always been a strong advocate of Urbana’s recycling program. In fact, his predecessor’s attempt to cut the recycling program was one of the reasons Satterthwaite first ran for mayor twelve years ago. In his first term, Satterthwaite worked with the city council to expand recycling pickup to include cardboard, magazines and plastics. In his second term, Satterthwaite worked closely with the city council to expand recycling service to residential apartments as well as single-family homes.

The truth is that Satterthwaite is running a campaign that touts his own record because he is the only candidate for mayor that truly has a record of delivering results for Urbana.

Justin Cajindos

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Secretary, College Democrats

sophomore in LAS