KIM CLARK TO ANNOUNCE HIS CANDIDACY FOR CONGRESS
MEDIA ALERT KIM CLARK TO ANNOUNCE HIS CANDIDACY FOR CONGRESS
Press Release for April 5 Announcement
Adele Lanan, Campaign Manager
cell: 630 248 3843
photos, interviews available upon request
(March 29, 2006) THREE OAKS, MI ----Kim Clark, Three Oaks businessman and community leader, will announce his candidacy for the United States Congress. Running as the Democratic candidate for Michigan's 6th District, he is challenging 18-year Republican incumbent Fred Upton in the election to be held November 7th, 2006.
Clark will make his official announcement on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5TH at:
o 11:00AM-NOON at the Acorn Theatre, 107 Generations Drive in Three Oaks, Michigan, and
oFrom 4:00PM-6:30PM (including a "Meet & Greet") in Kalamazoo at Democratic Headquarters, 3254 S. Westnedge.
Clark is supported by members of the Michigan Democratic Party, including County Chairpersons from the 6th District, and his grassroots supporters. Everyone is invited to join him in Three Oaks and Kalamazoo to kick off his campaign.
Although Clark is running in Michigan, many of the issues that concern him are National issues as well. "Government should work for the people," says Clark. "It should assure accessible and affordable health care for every single citizen. It should invest in education for our young people and training for those who are out of work so that they can make a living wage. Statistics show that the number of unemployed workers in the 6th district has almost doubled from 3.3% in 2000 to 6.5% in 2004. (U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics) We deserve a government that is more caring than it is today; a government that acts on behalf of all of its citizens, not just on behalf of corporate lobbyists; a government that is open, honest, and accountable to the people. As a Nation, we need to develop cleaner sources of energy, and stop relying only on foreign oil. We need a Congress that is serious about national security, one where I can add my voice to those committed to ending the war in Iraq
Clark, who was born on April 6, 1959 in Texas, has been a resident of Three Oaks for 12 years, where he owns and operates the Acorn Theater with his partner David Fink. He is a community leader who has played, and continues to play, a key role in the revitalization of this Southwest Michigan town. Clark earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Psychology from Loyola University, and has a degree in Christian Education from Moody Bible Institute. He is an ordained minister, and an adjunct professor at DePaul University, where he currently teaches screenwriting.
Clark brings business and leadership acumen to his candidacy. He has had a successful business career as Assistant Vice President at Chicago's Cosmopolitan National Bank; Executive Vice President of TeleStudies, a consulting firm; Associate Creative Director at Young and Rubicam, LLP, New York; and as a Partner in Lakeside Management, Inc., a corporate crisis management company.
The Clark campaign is already well underway, with offices in Three Oaks and Kalamazoo, and the purchase of a used Greyhound bus. Clark plans to ride this bus and regularly visit every community in the 6th District over the next seven months "… so that I can to hear directly from the voters," promises Clark. "It's about citizens who are tired of the government of George Bush, Tom Delay and Fred Upton. It's about returning to government by and of the people."
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In his own words
KIM CLARK: WHY I AM RUNNING FOR CONGRESS
I am asked why I want to run for office. This race is not so much about me as it is about America's need for honest leadership and a dramatic change of direction. The first step must be to restore a two-party system to our government and put the checks and balances on unbridled leadership, authored by our founding fathers, into effect. I'm willing and eager to help return a Democratic majority to the House of Representatives.
There are several key places to start this change: Schools, and the children they serve, are our country's best investment…schools that equip our young people for leadership… that give them the tools to advance our nation's creativity in math, science, and technology…that prepare them for real jobs, at living wages, that won't be out-sourced. Our emphasis must be on learning, not testing, on being able to think, not on a standardized test that sets up lower-achievement students, and their schools, for failure.
There needs to be a vast improvement in health care in this country. We must have a universal system that provides accessible and affordable healthcare for every single citizen, whether they can pay or not. The system must encourage preventive health by paying for early doctor visits that can either completely correct the beginning of a problem or at least dramatically reduce its impact. Instead today too many insurers reimburse only for the "big knife" - i.e. pay $30,000 for a diabetic's foot amputation instead of covering early visits for $150 to prevent the operation.
I've had experience with economic development for towns and cities first hand and have an idea of how it must work. When my partner and I bought the old Featherbone factory in Three Oaks six years ago we began working with the local community and the federal government to make street and lighting improvements in the town. Today several new shops have come in, a restaurant we encouraged to open in one of our buildings now employs 10 people, and our theater plus an active movie house draw folks into town regularly, dining beforehand, and enjoying the sparkle of the community. This is economic development at its best/most effective.
This almost unintended consequence of our purchase of the Featherbone Factory has made me think seriously about what one can accomplish when government is working with you. It's also about the requirement that each citizen must play his or her part too, not just expect others to do the work. And here's where Kim Clark for Congress comes in.
South Bend Tribune Article
April 6, 2006
Democrat seeks seat
Three Oaks theater co-owner pursues end to party’s drought, Upton’s reign.
LOU MUMFORD
Tribune Staff Writer
THREE OAKS — It was appropriate in more ways than one Wednesday when Kim Clark announced his candidacy for U.S. Rep. Fred Upton’s 6th District congressional seat in Three Oaks’ Acorn Theater.
Sure, Clark, a Democrat and Three Oaks businessman who turns 47 today, owns the Acorn with partner David Fink.
But it’s true also that majestic oak trees spring from tiny acorns, giving hope for political unknowns like Clark who need all the support they can muster to derail well- entrenched incumbents.
An ordained minister and an adjunct professor at DePaul University, where he teaches screenwriting, Clark is no doubt aware that no Democrat has represented Southwestern Michigan in Congress since Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in the White House.
A 10-term St. Joseph Republican, Upton has continued that stranglehold by regularly thrashing Democrats in November general elections. That again was the case two years ago, when he received 65 percent of the vote to Benton Harbor Democrat Scott Elliott’s 32 percent.
Should Upton receive his party’s nod for the seat as expected, he’ll once again be a heavy favorite to defeat Clark.
But if Clark is worried, he showed no sign of it Wednesday. He mentioned Upton by name several times and, in a tactic bound to be used against other President Bush-aligned Republicans this year, bashed him for what he called Upton’s “blank check'’ policy on the federal budget.
Upton evidently lives in a world where he not only doesn’t have to balance a checkbook, Clark claimed, but he has failed also to curb a debt that appears to be spiraling out of control.
Clark also disparaged Upton, or at least tried to, by pointing out that Bush refers to him as “Freddie boy.'’ Bush was a target of Clark as well, largely for his budgets that have significantly raised the national debt.
“I can say no to an out-of- control, out-of-touch administration,'’ he said.
He raised other issues, too, that may resonate with voters, from the need for accessible and affordable health care to the number of jobs lost to overseas competition. In a separate written statement distributed to reporters, Clark said U.S. Labor Department statistics show that the 6th District’s unemployment rate almost doubled between 2000 and 2004.
But to defeat Upton, he’ll need more than rhetoric. As Sara Bode, Clark’s strategic coordinator who introduced the candidate, seemed to point out, voters have grown accustomed to putting check marks by Upton’s name.
Links
The Democratic Party
Michigan Democratic Party
Michigan House Democrats
For donations go to: www.kimclarkforcongress.com
Press Release for April 5 Announcement
Adele Lanan, Campaign Manager
cell: 630 248 3843
photos, interviews available upon request
(March 29, 2006) THREE OAKS, MI ----Kim Clark, Three Oaks businessman and community leader, will announce his candidacy for the United States Congress. Running as the Democratic candidate for Michigan's 6th District, he is challenging 18-year Republican incumbent Fred Upton in the election to be held November 7th, 2006.
Clark will make his official announcement on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5TH at:
o 11:00AM-NOON at the Acorn Theatre, 107 Generations Drive in Three Oaks, Michigan, and
oFrom 4:00PM-6:30PM (including a "Meet & Greet") in Kalamazoo at Democratic Headquarters, 3254 S. Westnedge.
Clark is supported by members of the Michigan Democratic Party, including County Chairpersons from the 6th District, and his grassroots supporters. Everyone is invited to join him in Three Oaks and Kalamazoo to kick off his campaign.
Although Clark is running in Michigan, many of the issues that concern him are National issues as well. "Government should work for the people," says Clark. "It should assure accessible and affordable health care for every single citizen. It should invest in education for our young people and training for those who are out of work so that they can make a living wage. Statistics show that the number of unemployed workers in the 6th district has almost doubled from 3.3% in 2000 to 6.5% in 2004. (U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics) We deserve a government that is more caring than it is today; a government that acts on behalf of all of its citizens, not just on behalf of corporate lobbyists; a government that is open, honest, and accountable to the people. As a Nation, we need to develop cleaner sources of energy, and stop relying only on foreign oil. We need a Congress that is serious about national security, one where I can add my voice to those committed to ending the war in Iraq
Clark, who was born on April 6, 1959 in Texas, has been a resident of Three Oaks for 12 years, where he owns and operates the Acorn Theater with his partner David Fink. He is a community leader who has played, and continues to play, a key role in the revitalization of this Southwest Michigan town. Clark earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Psychology from Loyola University, and has a degree in Christian Education from Moody Bible Institute. He is an ordained minister, and an adjunct professor at DePaul University, where he currently teaches screenwriting.
Clark brings business and leadership acumen to his candidacy. He has had a successful business career as Assistant Vice President at Chicago's Cosmopolitan National Bank; Executive Vice President of TeleStudies, a consulting firm; Associate Creative Director at Young and Rubicam, LLP, New York; and as a Partner in Lakeside Management, Inc., a corporate crisis management company.
The Clark campaign is already well underway, with offices in Three Oaks and Kalamazoo, and the purchase of a used Greyhound bus. Clark plans to ride this bus and regularly visit every community in the 6th District over the next seven months "… so that I can to hear directly from the voters," promises Clark. "It's about citizens who are tired of the government of George Bush, Tom Delay and Fred Upton. It's about returning to government by and of the people."
##################################
In his own words
KIM CLARK: WHY I AM RUNNING FOR CONGRESS
I am asked why I want to run for office. This race is not so much about me as it is about America's need for honest leadership and a dramatic change of direction. The first step must be to restore a two-party system to our government and put the checks and balances on unbridled leadership, authored by our founding fathers, into effect. I'm willing and eager to help return a Democratic majority to the House of Representatives.
There are several key places to start this change: Schools, and the children they serve, are our country's best investment…schools that equip our young people for leadership… that give them the tools to advance our nation's creativity in math, science, and technology…that prepare them for real jobs, at living wages, that won't be out-sourced. Our emphasis must be on learning, not testing, on being able to think, not on a standardized test that sets up lower-achievement students, and their schools, for failure.
There needs to be a vast improvement in health care in this country. We must have a universal system that provides accessible and affordable healthcare for every single citizen, whether they can pay or not. The system must encourage preventive health by paying for early doctor visits that can either completely correct the beginning of a problem or at least dramatically reduce its impact. Instead today too many insurers reimburse only for the "big knife" - i.e. pay $30,000 for a diabetic's foot amputation instead of covering early visits for $150 to prevent the operation.
I've had experience with economic development for towns and cities first hand and have an idea of how it must work. When my partner and I bought the old Featherbone factory in Three Oaks six years ago we began working with the local community and the federal government to make street and lighting improvements in the town. Today several new shops have come in, a restaurant we encouraged to open in one of our buildings now employs 10 people, and our theater plus an active movie house draw folks into town regularly, dining beforehand, and enjoying the sparkle of the community. This is economic development at its best/most effective.
This almost unintended consequence of our purchase of the Featherbone Factory has made me think seriously about what one can accomplish when government is working with you. It's also about the requirement that each citizen must play his or her part too, not just expect others to do the work. And here's where Kim Clark for Congress comes in.
South Bend Tribune Article
April 6, 2006
Democrat seeks seat
Three Oaks theater co-owner pursues end to party’s drought, Upton’s reign.
LOU MUMFORD
Tribune Staff Writer
THREE OAKS — It was appropriate in more ways than one Wednesday when Kim Clark announced his candidacy for U.S. Rep. Fred Upton’s 6th District congressional seat in Three Oaks’ Acorn Theater.
Sure, Clark, a Democrat and Three Oaks businessman who turns 47 today, owns the Acorn with partner David Fink.
But it’s true also that majestic oak trees spring from tiny acorns, giving hope for political unknowns like Clark who need all the support they can muster to derail well- entrenched incumbents.
An ordained minister and an adjunct professor at DePaul University, where he teaches screenwriting, Clark is no doubt aware that no Democrat has represented Southwestern Michigan in Congress since Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in the White House.
A 10-term St. Joseph Republican, Upton has continued that stranglehold by regularly thrashing Democrats in November general elections. That again was the case two years ago, when he received 65 percent of the vote to Benton Harbor Democrat Scott Elliott’s 32 percent.
Should Upton receive his party’s nod for the seat as expected, he’ll once again be a heavy favorite to defeat Clark.
But if Clark is worried, he showed no sign of it Wednesday. He mentioned Upton by name several times and, in a tactic bound to be used against other President Bush-aligned Republicans this year, bashed him for what he called Upton’s “blank check'’ policy on the federal budget.
Upton evidently lives in a world where he not only doesn’t have to balance a checkbook, Clark claimed, but he has failed also to curb a debt that appears to be spiraling out of control.
Clark also disparaged Upton, or at least tried to, by pointing out that Bush refers to him as “Freddie boy.'’ Bush was a target of Clark as well, largely for his budgets that have significantly raised the national debt.
“I can say no to an out-of- control, out-of-touch administration,'’ he said.
He raised other issues, too, that may resonate with voters, from the need for accessible and affordable health care to the number of jobs lost to overseas competition. In a separate written statement distributed to reporters, Clark said U.S. Labor Department statistics show that the 6th District’s unemployment rate almost doubled between 2000 and 2004.
But to defeat Upton, he’ll need more than rhetoric. As Sara Bode, Clark’s strategic coordinator who introduced the candidate, seemed to point out, voters have grown accustomed to putting check marks by Upton’s name.
Links
The Democratic Party
Michigan Democratic Party
Michigan House Democrats
For donations go to: www.kimclarkforcongress.com
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