Raila presser sidesteps her direct involvement in fraudulent petition campaign in Assessor’s race
COOK COUNTY (February 6, 2018)–In response to former assessor candidate Andrea Raila’s February 6 press conference, Rebecca Reynolds, the campaign manager for progressive Democratic assessor candidate Fritz Kaegi, issued the following statement:
“This is only the latest in blatantly false smears defenders of the status quo have thrown at progressive Democrat Fritz Kaegi. It takes only a simple look at the facts to see right through this charade.
“After a comprehensive, thorough and fair hearing on the Raila campaign’s petitions, the Electoral Board’s hearing officer concluded there was clear evidence that Raila had personally committed fraud. No amount of indignation at a press spectacle changes that fact.
“Bizarrely, at her press conference today, Raila commented on the unprecedented amount of evidence presented against her–evidence that the hearing officer found to be clear and convincing, proving widespread fraud.
“Fritz Kaegi knows that the only way we can fix the broken property tax racket is with honesty, transparency, and a high standard of ethics and accountability. Neither the current assessment system, nor Ms. Raila’s fraudulent petition drive, demonstrates any of those critical components. The voters deserve much better than that.
“The only purpose of Ms. Raila’s circus this morning and throughout this process has been to distract the voters from the issues so critically at stake in this election. Our campaign will continue to call out unethical behavior and blatantly false smears whose only aim is to create confusion and maintain the status quo. And the only people who benefit from it are Joe Berrios and the lawyers who are running a billion-dollar racket for their own gain, on the backs of the people of Cook County.”
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