Holly Kim is one of 5 democratic candidates running for the nomination to be Illinois' Comptroller.
Kim visited Sunny Street Café in Carbondale on Tuesday as part of a campaign swing through Southern Illinois. Kim currently serves as the Lake County Treasurer. She's using the visit to connect with voters, "Part of my speech that I gave is that I'm a different kind of Democrat. In addition to the social issues, I hunt and I fish. I'm publicly Christian left, like Talarico from Texas, and I'm trying to expand our brand so that people can see that there's a home for them in the party."
Evelyn Fuqua is part of a southern Illinois women's group working to support candidates they feel will move Illinois forward. She is supporting Kim in the primary because of her background and desire to continue the modernization of the comptroller's office. Fuqua says she's also been impressed with Kim's energy while campaigning, "And that's what I liked about her. She really has a goal, and her goal isn't self-serving. Her goal is to make it better for others. And I understand that. That's the things I try to achieve in my life."
In addition to modernizing the office, Kim will look at requests by unions to expand the prevailing wage program.
As a young mother Kim used the WIC and Medicaid programs. With the state facing budget uncertainty with SNAP and Medicaid, Kim says she's ready to use the comptroller's office to make sure money is available when it's needed, "During hard times like that, you prioritize their reimbursements so that they can float something until the federal government gets their act together. And I think that's really the most important part is that I'm experienced and during really hard times, like, I won't be panicked. Like, I know how this works."
The 4 other candidates in the March Primary are State Representatives Margaret Croke and Stephanie Kifowit, State Senator Karina Villa, and Champaign County Auditor George Danos.
