Steve Powell

Steve Powell is a superdelegate in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

2008 elections
Steven M. Powell, 44, is Secretary/Treasurer of Local 881, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, based in Rosemont, Il., a close-in Chicago suburb. In 2004, Steve Powell was appointed by the UFCW International President as the special assistant for legislative and political affairs. He rose from being a union representative in 1985 to working in the International's headquarters in 1991 as its director of political affairs. In 1995 he returned to the Chicago local to serve as executive vice president until he was elected secretary/treasurer in 1999. He also is Central Committeeman in the 8th Congressional District and Trustee for the UFCW Midwest Health Benefits and Pension Funds, according to his union biography. Powell's union, a part of the Change to Win labor federation, has endorsed Barach Obama. and

His father, Ron Powell, is president of the local and vice president of the International union. Both live in Mundelein, Il., a Lake County suburb of Chicago. Ron Powell ran as a Democratic Convention delegate in the Illinois 8th District pledged to Barack Obama in the Illinois primary election on Feb. 5.

In 2004 Powell was an alternate delegate to the Democratic Convention pledged to John Kerry.

Money in politics
A Dec. 22, 2000 Chicago Tribune article summarized the race: "Mundelein Trustee Steve Powell, who recently announced his intention to run for mayor, has more than $50,000 in his campaign fund--which is a virtual fortune for a municipal mayor's race. Powell, secretary-treasurer of Local 881 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which is headed by his father, Ron Powell, has received thousands of dollars from union interests. Several big-name politicians, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), also have contributed. Powell, 37, a village trustee since 1997, believes he can do a better job directing Mundelein's future than Marilyn Sindles, who plans to run for a fourth four-year term in next year's spring elections. Though most suburban elections are nonpartisan, several Lake County Democrats are expected to stand behind Powell's candidacy in an attempt to make more inroads into the GOP-controlled suburbs." Powell lost the race then resigned from the village board.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Portal:Superdelegate Transparency Project
 * Superdelegates in the 2008 presidential primaries
 * U.S. presidential election, 2008
 * U.S. presidential election, 2008/Congressional endorsements
 * Portal:2008 U.S. Congressional Elections