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Cieslewicz draws ire from business community

Many individuals in Madison's local business community are upset over a recent mayoral appointee.

Ignoring the recommendations of the Economic Development Committee, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz appointed Bill Clingan to the newly created post of director of economic and community development last Friday.

As a result, committee member Tom Cill and Mark Bugher, university research park director and chairperson of the EDC, have resigned from the development taskforce.

The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Madison, Inc. and Smart Growth Madison, Inc., three local business advocacy groups that lobbied hard for the creation of the post, are unified in their criticism of the mayor's decision, claiming it is a snub to the business community as well as to the EDC.

"There's a feeling this was more of a political maneuver," said Carole Schaefer, executive director of Smart Growth Madison. "It was really a missed opportunity to get somebody good in that role."

While there is no concern on the part of business leaders about Clingan's management style or abilities, there are strong reservations regarding his qualifications in the area of economic development.

"I was surprised [the committee's] recommendation was not honored," DMI President Susan Schmitz said.

Schaefer said business groups fought long and hard for the creation of the post and made many compromises in the process, including expanding the role to include not just economic, but also community development as well.

These compromises were made based on the promise that someone very qualified and competent in the economic field would fill the position.

In Schaefer's opinion, this condition was not met, but the mayor's office disagrees.

"[The mayor] felt he was the best candidate for the job," said George Twigg, Cieslewicz's communications director. "The mayor feels that Bill is a well-qualified candidate."

Twigg went on to point out that Clingan currently manages 600 people as the division administrator for the Department of Workforce Development, which is "very involved in job creation and employment issues."

According to Twigg, this is very relevant to Clingan's new post, where responsibilities include funding, investments, job creation and social services. The mayor remains hopeful that Clingan’s performance will silence his critics.