17th CD: BOLAND AND STOCKWELL ARE WORLDS APART, YET MUCH ALIKE

Amy Stockwell is not a dynamic speaker but her content is impeccable. Her credentials are outstanding and her experience as a Gov't financial professional is equally impressive. To run Macon County with a surplus shows botht that she knows deep poop and that she plays well with others. Of course, because of the way the district is layed out, she may as well be from Tibet. She can't get enough votes even if Rock Island County remains split. She will be better for this experience, though, and it wouldn't surprise me to see her in run for Congress sometime after the Decennial Census. Very impressive public servant.

At first blush, she and Boland have nothing more in common than living in Cities with really bad cable TV but they share something else. They are outsiders. Stockwell is from someplace farther away than Egypt and Boland is not universally accepted in his own area.

Boland gave a hell of a speech. He tied in his electability, his legislative success, how often his family name had appeared on the ballot and his proven campaign ability. He then moved on to his legislative successes and spoke of them effectively and concisely. Finally he mentioned some local interest issues (Alternative Fuels, Big Island, Arsenal) and said his proven ability made him the guy to handle him. If you just dropped into the audience from Jupiter, you'd think, "Well, there's their guy." But it doesn't work that way in Rock Island County. Up there, you either love Mike Boland or you don't. It was obvious, a lot of the good folks there don't.

So Stockwell and Boland gave great presentations and would make terrific House Members but, in very different ways which turn out to be the same way, seem like outsiders in an insider's process.