The Southern Illinoisan: Cole to Visit India, Rekindle Sister-City...

[Tweed]

Cole to Visit India, Rekindle Sister-City Relationship

"CARBONDALE -- As Americans send aid to tsunami-devastated countries in Asia and Africa, the people of Carbondale also are sending relief -- and the mayor.

Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole will go to India in February as a one-person delegation to rekindle a sister- city relationship with Shimla, India -- which dates back to 1973 but was eclipsed by Southern Illinois University's connection to Nakajo, Japan.

The city council will vote on a resolution tonight to re-establish a sister city relationship that has been left unattended for three decades. The goal is to cultivate mutual friendships and positive interactions between the citizens of each community, which are important in today's global society.

Planning for the one-week excursion began in October and Cole officially unveiled the idea of the international visit during the State of the City Address in November."

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2005/01/11/top/doc41e3cd41d12f1967582212.txt


Anyone know about this guy's political ambitions? I mean, God Bless him for going there and giving people more initiative to donate support, but this will also help him in terms of name recognition and something great to point back to later down the line.

Southern Illinois people, do you have alot of Indians in the area? The article made it seem like there were a decent amount. There is even a India Association of Southern Illinois.

[Radical Activist]

1. He was on the city council when

I went to school at SIUC and he ran for mayor shortly after I left.

He didn't seem like a bad guy and he wasn't afraid to say something unpopular or confront the rest of the city council on an issue. He is a Republican and was George Ryan's Southern Illinois liaison or some silly title like that while Ryan was Governor.

He is ambitious and I once read his name mentioned as a potential replacement for Jack Ryan in the Senate race. I wouldn't be surprised to see him run for statewide office sometime down the road. He's young so he has lots of time.

[Tweed]

2. Sounds like a Republican I wouldn't mind

Certainly I wouldn't mind a Democrat, but he doesn't sound half bad. It's great that he's going over there and cares enough to raise awareness, even if his motivations are mainly political.

LOL, anyone who ran against Barack Obama didn't stand a chance. I'm sure that was another factor in the picking of Keyes. With so few Republicans that would make good candidates in the future, they didn't want to spoil any of the next generation of Republicans leaders in Illinois. Coles probably would have gotten much higher than 27% though.