The owner of Nickel and Lace, a line of concealed-carry garments and holsters for women, is running for the 55th State Representative seat in Illinois.
This story from the Chicago Tribune says Marilyn Smolenski (R) intends to unseat a three-term incumbent Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines).
"I do sit on the board of the Republican Women of Park Ridge, and in some of our meetings, we discussed how Marty Moylan was going to be running unopposed," Smolenski said in the story. "I felt people in our district really deserved to have representation"
Smolenski has never held or run for public office before.
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"I'm a political outsider. People are really fed up with the political establishment in Illinois. They feel their quality of life isn't getting any better," she added.
Among the contentious issues int he area are taxes and fiscal reform as well as Senate Bill 1, a school funding bill that Moylan has backed, but Smolenski called it “a suburban bailout of the profligate, corrupt Chicago Public Schools.”
The 55th State Representative District includes large parts of Park Ridge and Des Plaines, as well as portions of Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, and Chicago’s Northwest Side.
