Illinois Candidate Boycotts Wal-Mart
Posted on February 24, 2006 by webteam
With the exception of a few campaigns, most candidates have a tight budget. When advertising expenses and staff payrolls have to be met, office supplies are usually purchased at the cheapest store. In some regions, that happens to be Wal-Mart. That’s what Illinois state treasurer candidate Paul Mangieri’s campaign was doing, until some reminded him that his actions conflicted with his message. Now Mangieri’s campaign refuses to shop at Wal-Mart until the giant retailer corrects its business model responsible for sending jobs overseas, hurting small business, and shifting healthcare costs onto taxpayers. The Peoria Journal Star has the story.
Paul Mangieri, a Democratic candidate for state treasurer, vowed not to spend any more campaign money at Wal-Mart after a demand by his opponent Thursday to explain the $1,300 he spent at the “anti-union company that routinely ships American jobs overseas.”
At a news conference in Peoria on Thursday, primary opponent Alexi Giannoulias, vice president and senior loan officer of Broadway Bank in Chicago, said the campaign money Mangieri spent at the Galesburg Wal-Mart was a “slap in the face to the working men and women of our state.”
When first told of the announcement, Mangieri, the Knox County state’s attorney, said, “I think we’re into the silly season now.
But when told officials at the Illinois AFL-CIO were also disappointed that he used campaign cash at Wal-Mart, Mangieri said he would be more considerate as to where he shops.
“If it’s of concern on any level, we will ensure that not only will we buy 100 percent American-made products, but we will only purchase from union stores,” Mangieri said.
