By Lucas Hawley -
Edgar Montalvo is a resident of Tinley Park with a degree in engineering and a MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago. He served over 30 years in the Army reserves and just recently retired as a Lt. Colonel. Throughout that time, he served in eight overseas deployments, two of them in Iraq.
He is aware that he does have low name recognition among the constituents of the 19th Senate District, but notes that is a double edge sword.
“Name recognition works two ways. People I’ve talked to know Hastings and don’t like Hastings, and they’re talking about the father. I’ll do my job to tell the people of the district who I am and the experience I have to draw the conclusion of why I am the better candidate," he said.
When asked what he believes is his opponent’s Achilles’ heel he hopes to capitalize on, Montalvo quickly came up with three:
1. Hastings doesn’t live in the 19th Senate district and is only allowed to run there because it is a redistricting year election.
“Here is an opponent here who has put out an objection that people who have signed my petition don’t live in the district. But this is a young man who can’t even sign his own petition. Come November 6th, I'll at least be able to vote for myself. I’ll at least be able to do that . . . He can’t event count on his own vote,” Montalo said.
2. Hastings lacks the experience.
“He has three years at a multi-national firm (Johnson & Johnson) I’d ask, why did he leave? He is clamming up instead that because he is an Iraqi war veteran, he is qualified to be your State Senator. As honorable as that service is, myself included,that doesn’t qualify someone to be your next State Senator," Montalvo said. "There has to be other attributes, skills and experience to say ‘that person should be the next senator.' Hastings lacks that experience bottom line."
3. Hastings isn’t a Fiscal Conservative like he says he is.
“He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. One, his father is a State Democratic Central Committeeman who has a lot of political connections with the current leadership in Springfield. I can’t imagine where his son is going to go off on his own in opposition to the powers to be and them this is the right way.
"Two, he currently sits on High School District 230. Illinois’s biggest problem is pension; we are 50 out of 50 States in funded pension obligation. The State of Illinois is at 42% funded; meaning nearly 60% of our pension obligation is currently unfunded. You need to make the tough choices today because someone is going to have to end up paying that tomorrow."
Montalvo said Hastings biggest accomplishment is being on the school board, where he added Astroturf for the football fields.
"According to published reports from Cook County on July 1st, District 230 is at only 31% funded. They are actually worse than the state. That school district, rather than allocating that money towards a gaping hole in the pension they chose to like to have things, not the 'must do,' Montalvo said.
"Is he going to now push for other big ticket items and just conveniently forget? You’ve got to walk the walk.”
For more information on Edgar Montalvo at www.montalvo2012.org
Lucas Hawley is interning with Illinois Review this summer -
