NEWS
City, campaign coordinate to pull off rally
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by Megan Costello
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Despite rain and overcast skies, the city of Madison weathered the last-minute location switch for Wednesday’s John Kerry rally.
The location change to the Alliant Energy Center ran smoothly, according to police and Sharyn Wisniewski, executive assistant to Kathleen Falk.
The Exhibition Center hall, which housed the event, holds about 7,000, but according to Wisniewski more than 9,000 people attended the rally.
The mayor’s office worked closely with the Kerry campaign to organize the rally around the Capitol Loop, where the presidential candidate originally planned to appear. Plans they looked at involved street closures, a clean-up service, garbage pickup and a re-routed bus system.
“Our office worked very closely with the Kerry camp when we thought that the rally would be outside on the square,” said Janet Piraino, chief of staff for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. “But the majority of planning wasn’t needed when it was moved.”
Following the move, the city’s influence in the rally decreased, Piraino said, adding their primary concern was to meet Secret Services security demands.
Since the event featured a presidential candidate, police required extra help from officers.
A number of officers were called in to assist on their days off and many had to change their hours, according to Capt. Jill Klubertand.
More than 12 police districts controlled the event.
“There was a line to get in and people had to wait to be processed through metal detectors to get through the gates,” Klubertand said.
The gates were manned by Secret Service agents, private security of the Kerry campaign and local police.
Escorted by police, Kerry was transported from the Dane County Airport via motorcade.
The Kerry campaign will cover the costs of using the Alliant Energy Center. The rally’s security costs will be the most expensive for the city, according to Piraino.
Cieslewicz, however, has refused to front these bills, claiming they could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Official figures will not be fully evaluated and released until next week, according to Klubertand.
“We’re still waiting to find out the extent to which we participated [in the rally],” Piraino added.
The city may have had to shell out money for Kerry’s arrival and the campaign had to pay for the center, but those in attendance also had to pay to see the Democratic candidate.
To park at the Alliant Energy Center cost $4.50, the standard rate for any event hosted there, according to Wisniewski.
However, some chose to park across the street from the Alliant Energy Center to skip both costs and heavy traffic.
“There was room for all of the cars, parking was not a problem,” Wieniewski said.
Workers were laying asphalt around the center during the event. Construction had little effect on parking availability or traffic, Wisniewski and police noted.
“The traffic wasn’t as heavy as other major events’, but it was backed up around the area,” Klubertand said. “Traffic was very similar to any event at the coliseum.”
Overall, the event progressed with few complications, Klubertand said.
“The event ran very smoothly,” she added. “The small amounts of construction didn’t affect traffic.”
Others agreed.
“We understand the Kerry campaign was very happy with results and pleased with the event,” Wisniewski said.
Kate Shanovich, a Kerry campaign volunteer and UW sophomore, attended the event via a shuttle bus from the Memorial Union.
“The bus was really crowded but that was part of the experience,” Shanovich said. “Everyone seemed thrilled to be there.”
Shanovich said the costs to park were a little disappointing, but students could have taken other forms of transportation.
“It was unfortunate that people had to pay to park, but if Kerry had come to the Capitol there would have been downtown parking costs,” Shanovich said. “People would’ve had to plug a meter anyway.”
She feels the rally was a great experience except for one drawback.
“I kept trying to get up close, I was telling people I just wanted to shake his hand,” Shanovich said. “I didn’t get to.”
