Chicago Republicans

             If you are receiving this, it is because you are an integral part of the GOP core in Chicago and Cook County and we have met each other already, in some cases we know each other very well.

              I want you to be among the very first to know that I have officially decided to seek nomination to run for 36th Ward Alderman in Chicago in February 2011. It is a northwest side ward that includes Dunning, Montclare and Galewood bordered roughly by Cumberland on the west, Irving Park Rd on the north, Narraganset on the East and the southern border runs along Belmont Ave., then south along Harlem Ave. until it ends at North Ave. My family and I have lived there our whole lives and know the neighborhoods, bars, restaurants, schools and churches well. I grew up and was educated there. I will be gathering the required signatures over the next several weeks going door-to-door in areas of the ward that I know hold some promise for me. 

             I will be going up against the notorious 36th Ward Democratic machine once led by Bill Banks, who resigned his post as alderman and had his former driver John Rice appointed. Rice's name ID is very low and the Banks clan made more than a few enemies among neighbors in the past decade, thus making 36 vulnerable for the first time in a generation. They still have a small army of loyal precinct captains and city workers along with a lot of money socked away in Bank's committeeman account from his days handing out zoning passes to developers. The race is setting up to be competitive with at least two other candidates committed to run and a possible 5th other than myself. I would be the only Republican in the race (though city elections are technically non-partisan).

              I am currently completing the initial process of setting up my campaign bank account, preparing my D-1 for when I eclipse $3,000 in the account, setting up my website (which will be matosforchicago36.com <http://matosforchicago36.com/>  and .net) and recruiting friends and family in the neighborhood to commit time for me. 

            Assuming I survive the inevitable ballot challenge, my campaign plan will be simple and targeted. I plan on personally knocking on the door of every known Republican in the ward (less than 1500 individuals in roughly 1100 households). Target independents with phone banking and a simple lit drop while catching up with others during neighborhood meetings at schools, churches and parks. The twist is that I am half Puerto Rican (Matos is a well known Latino name) and some of that side of my family is in 36. South of Belmont there is a large Latino population. I am the only candidate in the race who is even half Latino (or frankly not Italian). While I am not fluent in Spanish myself, my lit drops will be bilingual and I hope to have a couple family members fluent in Spanish help me out there. Also, I have a couple of Polish contacts for the area north of Belmont who will help me do bilingual outreach there. I hope to do some serious outreach to the elderly and police in the neighborhood. My father was a Puerto Rican police officer for 20 years in Bayamon so police life is near to my heart.

           This is a ward that sees about 11,000 votes cast for Alderman in a normal year and I believe despite the Dem organization, I can gather enough votes, combined with the other candidates, to at least force a run off that will tie up Democrat resources in 36, drain some of their massive campaign fund and do long term damage to their Northwest Side influence. Hopefully, my presence will stop some 36th ward money from flooding other wards were good candidates will be running against machine guys.

            In the months preceding Feb. 2011, I will seek more of your help, wisdom and insights. The GOP infrastructure that you have all helped build is amazing and I am proud to be a part of it. I thank you for all your work and guidance to this point that has allowed me to confidently say I am now ready to put my knowledge into action. I look forward to speaking with each of you more about my campaign as it gets organized and gathers steam. For now, let's focus on GOP victories in November, that will build the momentum toward more local wins in 2011 and the big prizes in 2012.