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District 8 candidates debate local issues
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Also by Rebecca Collora:
- Mayor hosts health summit (April 19, 2005)
- Establishment receives liquor license approval (March 17, 2005)
- Vilas Zoo to open new 'Arctic' exhibit (March 16, 2005)
- Cieslewicz finishes funding excursion (March 11, 2005)
- Police work to inform about Tasers (March 3, 2005)
Related Stories:
- King, challengers face off in debate (February 3, 2005)
- Corcoran drops out of city race (February 15, 2005)
- King tops City Council primary (February 16, 2005)
- Council candidates duke it out at Union (March 28, 2003)
- King, Falk encourage students to vote (April 5, 2005)
by Rebecca Collora
Friday, February 11, 2005
City Council candidate Kami Eshraghi may have arrived late, missing his introduction, but he was just in time for the important debate that ensued last night at the Memorial Union against Ryan Corcoran and incumbent Ald. Austin King, District 8.
Sponsored by Associated Students of Madison and the Wisconsin Union Directorate, the candidates were each given one minute to discuss each issue, and a 30-second rebuttal. Since District 8 encompasses much of the campus, the issues were student-minded, including accessibility as a candidate, entertainment laws, the smoking ban, proposed precautions for Halloween and tenants’ rights.
“I said I would be an active and accessible representative, and I don’t think anyone can take that away from me,” King said.
Using his experience to his advantage, King shot down many of the challengers’ arguments and made several corrections, especially when the issue of tenants’ rights came up, a subject he said he is passionate about.
“If you want someone to work on tenants’ rights, then I’m the man for you. I’ve begun tackling and reforming the way we do security deposits,” King said.
His opponents, however, were far from impressed with the work King has done on this subject over the past two years.
“There needs to be a better coordination between landlords and tenants,” Eshraghi said. “There’s more housing than renters, and we definitely need more parking.”
Eshraghi added he wants to increase the amount of student housing.
All of the candidates agreed on changing the entertainment laws and policies in Madison, yet they all had different proposals on how this should be accomplished.
“Wisconsin law gets in the way of Madison being safer for underage drinkers. I want to build a rave-size music venue so that there is a place to see concerts,” Corcoran, graduate of the University of Wisconsin and front man for the band Awesome Car Funmaker, said.
Eshraghi, owner of Kimia Lounge, was less enthusiastic about an additional venue and said he would like to lobby for changing the drinking age in Madison.
“I feel that by lowering the drinking age to 19, we will see fewer sexual assaults, fewer people being injured, more people at taverns and [fewer] at overcrowded house parties. I want to work to change [the drinking age] state-wide to 19,” Eshraghi said.
In his rebuttal, King said this idea was impossible, claiming he has struggled with this issue in the past two years.
Another issue King has worked on, which has created some tension among the candidates, is Halloween. King’s proposal to keep the bars open later was rejected by the council, leading to smaller and steadier changes.
“We’re moving progress in the right direction. We just need to keep doing what we’re doing,” King said. “The main thing that helped me was the participation of students in the planning of Halloween.”
Once again, his opponents did not approve of his actions on this issue.
“Halloween has been handled very poorly. There needs to be better leadership,” Corcoran said. “I propose no free food on Library Mall and instead encourage vendors to stay open later.”
All three candidates ended the debate by encouraging students to vote in the primary election Feb. 15.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 1:55am):
"Corcoran bashes free food" - great campaign slogan, stupid.
I happened to be at this debate, and boy, was Ryan Corcoran an idiot. And Eshraghi was late, a bit of a faux paus, if I do say so myself. And King? Well, I think everyone there would agree he kicked their asses on the merits.
King was attacked from both sides, but he stayed cool, which was impressive given the circumstances. He was clearly the best prepared of the three, which makes sense since he's the incumbent.
Eshraghi seemed to know what he was talking about, but he called tenants' rights "social engineering" which won't go over well with the tenants in this district, which is, oops, the entire district. And, generally, he was a conservative old guy, which won't go over well in a district full of college students that vote liberally.
But where Eshraghi came off as knowing some stuff, Corcoran came off like a complete and utter fool. He was reading off of note cards the entire time, and it was pretty clear that he didn't write those notes himself. Most of the shit he spouted didn't make sense. And he kept saying that he was going to change state law (which Eshraghi said as well, actually) - and I was like, no, you're not, actually. Why? Because you're an idiot, and even if you're an alderperson and not an idiot, you can't just change state law.
I disagree with some of the lefty stuff King has done, but there's no question he's the most qualified of all the candidates. He definitely won this debate, hands down.
Anyone want to put out an over/under on this race?
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 1:56am):
I wasn't there, but I'm not surprised to hear that King won the debate. He's totally the best candidate in the race, and he's worked hard for students for a long time.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 1:58am):
My prediction for the primary:
King 70
Eshraghi 18
Corcoran 12
In the general:
King 80
Eshraghi 20
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 2:04am):
I've felt a little conflicted about this race, because I'm a big fan of Awesome Car Funmaker. But after seeing Ryan flop around like an idiot behind the podium tonight, I'm voting King for sure. I'd much rather continue to see Ryan sing into mics than speechify into them. And, if he gets elected, it'll kind of ruin the fun of seeing his band play. I'd rather not know that he's such a dolt. I think I can suppress this memory though as long as he doesn't pop up again and start talking about shit he has no clue about.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 3:21am):
ACF kicks so much ass... but yeah, Ryan was hilariously weak during the debate. Eshragi seemed completely out of his element just being at the Union surrounded by students. And what the hell - I thought Kimia Lounge was in District 4? Shouldn't he challenge Verveer or something? King did well, and provided he doesn't get cocky this race should go just fine for him.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 3:33am):
Oh, one more thing - Ryan's a nice guy, but goddamnit did he ever piss me off with his ignorance and arrogance when it came to tenants' rights. I AM one of those who have actually done the work, I helped write the inclusionary zoning ordinance, I helped write the Tenant Rights & Responsibilities pamphlet; I've never seen that kid at ANY tenant/landlord related functions in or out of City Hall, and he had the nerve to preach about how HE's going to bring us inclusionary zoning and a tenant bill of rights? News flash Ryan - it's been done, and absolutely no thanks to you.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 9:47am):
Sounds like Eshraghi's tactic is to throw out buzz words and hot topics even though he knows he can't do a thing about them. He says he wants a 19 year old drinking age but that is a tactic to endear himself to students. If that is truly his issue then why is he running for Madison Common Council and not state government where the real power for that issue lies?
Regaridng housing Eshraghi says there should be more plus more parking. Duh. Tell us your plan to get it done. There's going to be more housing downtown no matter what; that's the been the building trend. So if he wins is Eshraghi going to come back at re-election time and tell us he was responsible? Please.
Sounds like Eshraghi is good at talking the talk but he is clueless about walking the walk.
King is easily and clearly the person for the job.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 10:01am):
I'm in love with Austin. He looks like a plump shaggy from scooby-doo.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 10:23am):
This race presents such a difficult choice for conservatives. Do we vote for a 40-year-old liar and scumbag who has no chance of beating King in the general just because he's closer to our politics? Or do we vote for the younger, dumber liberal idiot because he's cuter than King and might actually have a shot in hell in this race (probably not, but let's imagine)? My take is, an ineffective conservative isn't that much better than an ineffective liberal, but an ineffective liberal is waaaaaaaay better than King, who's proven he's able to actually do damage. I don't know if it even matters. I'm probably just going to vote Underheim for Superintendent and leave this race blank. Go Underheim!
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 10:24am):
EEeeeewwwww, Greg Underheim sucks.
Vote Libby Burmaster! She's clearly the best for students. She's the only one not pushing TABOR, which would gut the UW system overnight.
And Vote Austin King for City Council! Clearly the best candidate for students. No real need to comment there.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 10:27am):
Come on, everybody. Corcoran didn't sound like an idiot, just a tool. If he weren't looking down and reading off of flash cards the whole debate, he probably would have sounded like an idiot, but as it was he was just a tool. Does anyone remember the debate between Jim Bunning and Dan Mongiardo where Bunning read off of a teleprompter the entire time? So, what does everybody think, does Corcoran have Alzheimers like Senator Bunning or is he just grossly unqualified to hold public office, let alone speak in public?
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 10:29am):
<- I'm going to go with grossly unqualified, but he does seem to have a weird "tic" of some sort that causes him not to be able to speak in complete sentences. I'd feel really bad if he actually did have some sort of neurological disease, though.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 10:33am):
I second "grossly unqualified." And whatever it is that afflicts him, it clearly isn't Alzheimer's. Remember all his protestations about how he wasn't "that old"? That was hilarious. Like he was really that worried about King's "I'm the youngest candidate in the race" line working. It's a dumb line, King should drop it, and only an idiot would vote for King because he's the youngest. People should vote for King because he's far and away the most competent. Although I do agree that there's something weird about a 40-year-old running to represent the campus district. It's kind of insulting.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 11:37am):
The wierd 40 year old has been living in this district since his high school days. He grew up on Wilson Street. He'll be here for another twenty-five years.
Kami wants to eliminate some of the controlled barriers that are set for the development of housing. He wants first floor retail and more housing, which would drive down the cost. He is also concerned with the gold rush mantality that Austin has created by pushing up the date for reting/showing houses.
I'm glad your all open minded and don't make assumptions.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 11:41am):
Hi Kami, welcome to the Badger Herald website. Learn how to spell, fucker! "mantality" is actually spelled "mentality." "wierd" is actually spelled "weird." "your" is actually spelled "you're" in this case.
And by the way, Kami, nice try. But Wilson St. isn't even in Austin's district. And you just moved downtown to run against Austin, having lived in Fitchburg for 10 years. You admitted as much in the Isthmus. So, stop lying, please. And don't bother showing up here again.
By the way, how do I know that you're Kami? Because you mentioned what street you lived on in High School! Dude, that's so lame! Why are you so lame? And illiterate?
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 11:45am):
Ha! Kami's so lame and desperate he's doing interviews with the Mendota Beacon and posting to the Badger Herald website!!!! What a fucking loser! I guess I should have figured that out given what a pathetic attempt his bar is at creating a "babe lounge" where he could possibly score, though I doubt that happens without him shelling out the big bucks.
And by the way Kami, now that you're here and we can talk directly to you, tenants' rights aren't barriers to housing, they protect us, the tenants you want to represent. So, in the hilarious scenario where your 40 year old ass is elected to represent us 20-somethings, please be an advocate for tenants' rights and not an opponent to them. Thank you, loser.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 11:52am):
I'm not Kami, and no, I can't spell. So you were right on one of two things.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 12:04pm):
Sorry to be off topic, but the Mendota Beacon? Haaaaaaaahahahahahaha!
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 1:24pm):
OK, so we're supposed to believe that you're not Kami, but you know where he lived in High School and you know that "he'll be here for another twenty-five years." Right. You dumb fucker. Not only can't you spell, Kami, you can't even lie well. You're such a loser! And your bar sucks!
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 1:26pm):
How lame and sad and desperate Mr. Eshraghi is to be posting here about where he lived in High School as a qualification for running for office. And then, he denies that it was even him that posted! How sad, how desperate. This explains a lot about his pathetic campaign.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 1:29pm):
People, with all the bashing of the stupid and desperate Kami, we're losing track of the main topic, which is the ignorance and idiocy of Ryan Corcoran. Jeesh, are you people all ADD? Can't concentrate on something for too long?
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 1:42pm):
Hey, lay off. I'm taking my Aderol. But it's hard to keep focused when Kami actually came and posted a lame little retort with a bunch of misspellings. Come on, that's hilarious!
I think we're all skilled enough to comment on Kami's lameness and Ryan's idiocy in the same thread. Check it out:
Ryan Corcoran should have showed up to the debate late instead of Eshraghi; it felt like each inchoate word he uttered lost him a vote. His new campaign slogan should be "less is more." Eshraghi should have not shown up at all because he reminds everybody of the dirty guy who hangs out at the strip club all day drinking tonic water and seriously scared every woman in attendance. From where I was sitting in the audience I could see other women subconciously covering their chests while he spoke like his very words were leering at them.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 2:04pm):
I agree. Kami definitely has "creepy vibe" written all over him. Especially with that little lispy thing he does. I get the feeling he's running because he thinks being in the paper increases the likelihood of not having to pay to get sex.
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 4:24pm):
I think the above poster is a little generous to King with the predictions, and I think he underestimates Corcoran. My prediction:
Primary: King 65, Corcoran 20, Eshraghi 15
General: King 70, Corcoran 30
Anonymous (February 11, 2005 @ 5:17pm):
Why haven't I gotten any lit pieces from Corcoran or Eshragi? And where's Eshragi's website? And where's Corcoran's website (a picture and "More to come" don't count)? Weak sauce...
Anonymous (February 12, 2005 @ 1:08am):
Don't expect anything from Corcoran, he was bragging about how he didn't have any money. And I'd bet that Eshraghi doesn't have any volunteers, so he'll probably just do one direct mail piece, since those are really expensive.
Anonymous (February 12, 2005 @ 11:18am):
Eshragi looks like a pimp with Downs Syndrome. Have you ever been into Kimia? That place is bizarre. The dude has no clue.
Anonymous (February 13, 2005 @ 9:27am):
Got another flyer from King today. It's a pretty excellent piece, with a quick list of issues, a reminder of where to vote, and a bunch of clever quotes from other students about Austin and why we should vote for him. I was already convinced, but I bet this piece wins him a lot of votes.
I still haven't heard so much as a peep from his opponents.
Anonymous (February 13, 2005 @ 10:12am):
I actually did get one piece from Mr. Eshraghi. It was weird, no issues, no discussion of where he stands, just an invite to a party with a weird picture of a woman who looked trashed on a toilet. It was clearly made by a consultant with directions from Mr. Esrhaghi to make him try to look hip and young and not 40. What a vacuous campaign. The slogan was "Party to take our city back" or something like that. Yeah, take it back from our popular elected officials and give it to a 40-year-old bar owner who carpetbagged into the district. Right, dude. Whatever. If his strategy is to talk to drunk people at his bar and try to get them to vote, he'll be disappointed by the only six people that remember on election day. Maybe if he ever discussed "issues" or "anything of substance" but no.
Anonymous (February 13, 2005 @ 10:17am):
Corcoran has also had a piece, but apparently it hasn't gotten out there much. I forget where I saw it, I think it was at Electric Earth, or some other coffee shop that was totally not even close to the district he's running in. It was a little shitty quarter sheet with no photo or anything, but to his credit it did have two whole issues "discussed". I'll try to repeat the text to the best of my recollection:
"Halloween
I'm an idiot and I'm going to change state law somehow despite that and also bring in an event organizer from New York City.
Warming Shelter
I'm an idiot and I'm somehow going to convince ten other council members that will never respect me to vote for a huge funding appropriation to build a wet shelter."
And then it had something about how he wasn't partisan and something about when to vote. It was the saddest little excuse for a lit piece I've ever seen. I am impressed that he managed to have someone type up two issue positions for him, though. I hadn't expected that much.
Anonymous (February 15, 2005 @ 10:47am):
I just hope a loser like Kami who lies more in his personal and professional life than anyone I know (I have known him since high school) does not come out on top of this election. I wish I would have found this thread earlier I would have shared some more enlightening details of Kami he is only out for one thing free publicity to help his said excuse for a bar out he certainly does not care about anyone in his district other than to try to get them to spend there money in his over priced s#$t hole.
Anonymous (February 15, 2005 @ 10:50am):
I just hope a loser like Kami who lies more in his personal and professional life than anyone I know (I have known him since high school) does not come out on top of this election. I wish I would have found this thread earlier I would have shared some more enlightening details of Kami he is only out for one thing free publicity to help his sad excuse for a bar out he certainly does not care about anyone in his district other than to try to get them to spend there money in his over priced s#$t hole.
