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Four candidates in District 8 aldermanic race clash
Eagon, Flores, Schmidt, Woulf highlight campus safety as campaign’s focus with primary set for Feb. 17
JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo
Candidates for the seat being vacated by Ald. Eli Judge went head-to-head in a debate sponsored by the Roosevelt Institution in Humanities.
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Bar raiding, student safety and tenant rights were some of the major issues deliberated as four University of Wisconsin students debated for Eli Judge’s District 8 alder seat in the Humanities Building Sunday night.
Mark Woulf, UW junior, began the debate saying he encourages bars to open their doors to the 18-, 19- and 20-year-old crowd to decrease the number of bar raids and put more police officers on the street.
“Stopping underage drinking isn’t going to happen,” Woulf said. “We need to focus on safety.”
Additionally, Woulf said drinking puts people at an escalated risk of danger. He said Madison residents should be assured their homes are safe, adding the most dangerous areas on campus are between houses and parking lots.
Candidate Katrina Flores, UW graduate student, agreed bars should be open to an underage crowd. She argued providing entertainment in bars keeps more students off the streets. Flores added she thinks house parties are more dangerous than bar-hopping.
UW junior Bryon Eagon mentioned he wants to repeal the Alcohol License Density Plan, which puts a cap on the number of full liquor licenses in downtown Madison.
Eagon said giving venues liquor licenses on a “case-by-case basis is more responsible” than allowing the ALDP to automatically regulate distribution of liquor licenses.
Candidate Jacob Schmidt, a UW junior, agreed the distribution of liquor licenses should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
“You’re always going to have the good and the bad, and the bad is always going to ruin it for the good,” Schmidt said. “We need to start standing up and organizing.”
Woulf said the issue with the ALDP is it takes business away from the downtown, adding the community must do everything to promote economic growth.
The candidates also discussed the rights tenants are entitled to when signing a lease.
Schmidt said landlord/tenant relationships often suffer because tenants do not know the rights to which they are entitled. He added UW should have representatives talk with freshmen before they sign their apartment leases to inform them of their rights.
Eagon said one way to inform students of their rights is to outline them in contracts.
He added he would support Judge’s plan to set up a rating system of apartments.
Regarding her availability as an alder, Flores said if elected she will have a blog and host monthly “State of District 8” where she will discuss district issues with her constituents.
Eagon said he will make house calls to solve resident problems and also be available via blog and e-mail.
Additionally, Schmidt said he would appoint times where he would be available and will hopefully create a blog. Woulf said he would also host alder hours much like Judge has done during his tenure.
The primary is set for Feb. 17, which will whittle the field down to two candidates before the April 7 election.
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_insert GO _their friend_ remarks here… Eagon had the best night objectively
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Eagon was the most prepared without a doubt, however I think Wolf came out looking good as well. Eagon seemed like he wants to jump start his political career here while Wolf seems like he truly cares about the students (just an opinion). I get scared when a candidate uses the words “Me and I” as much as Eagon did.
Schmidt just agreed with everything that was said and when it was his turn to answer first he fumbled and danced around the subject. I mean, his answer about our lakes was that the issue was too “Tricky” to get into…then laughed and stopped talking…yikes!
Flores rambled on and on…and on. Its hard to listen to someone who makes only one clear point in twice the time it takes the others to make several good points and that good point was already stated.
I think its going to come down to Wolf and Eagon.
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Clear victory for Eagon… has the most momentum going into the primary
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Was the actual debate this vapid and free of issues, or is it just the article?
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Eagon is for sure trying to weasel his way into the political sphere.
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Woulf has one small issue (stopping bar raids) and that’s it. And Eagon/Flores showed they understood the issue better than Woulf. He didn’t even bring up his sole environmental policy (regarding the coal plant) because everyone knows city council can’t do anything about it.
Eagon did the best at showing he understands how things work and knows how to get things done. I think it will come down to Eagon and Flores.
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How about Woulf’s total biff of the question about Judge not taking the oath? If you don’t understand what happened just say it.
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I actually want someone with political ambitions to represent me on the city council. It’s an extremely political body and using skills to get people to vote for your proposals is one of the tactics that made Judge so successful. In my mind that is a positive for Bryon Eagon.
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One more thing: holding press conferences to score political points on your friend’s mugging is the most obtuse political weasling I’ve ever seen at this campus. You better check yourself.
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Katrina was the only candidate that didn’t sound like a politician. She has the organizing skills that would make her the best alder for this district.
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Katrina Flores… a woman who knows the importance of being deeply involved in a community instead of using it as a political stepping stone for a resume.
Vote FLORES if you care about real community issues!
whoo! :o)
IP hash: 6f0304a4
bryon eagon is just a resumee padding hack. it’s so easy to see right through him. i wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t even make it through the primary.
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Eagon wins in the primary for sure. The real question is who comes in second between Flores and Woulf. I think the PD base of Flores puts her into second. Woulf is stuck trying to compete with Eagon for the same group of voters and I don’t see how he can win that battle.
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How about Woulf saying students should vote for him because he has the “most detailed policies” ?!?!
Simple comparison…
Woulf: http://woulf09.com/The%20Platform.html
Eagon: http://bryoneagon.com/ideas
Flores: http://katrinaformadison.org/index-3.html
By his own measure, Woulf should himself vote for Eagon.
No doubt Eagon is “political,” but is that really a “bad” thing? Look at his website and tell me he is not serious. Or maybe he is just “too serious” for some? Can’t tell…
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Eagon’s motivations for running do not affect his intelligence on city issues, which the other three candidates clearly lack.
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Flores was the most dynamic of the candidates, and seem to care most about getting to the root of the problems on campus that committing to have the solution in a 1 minute sound bite. She also is the only one with true grassroots organizing experience. She does not have national aspirations. She truely is from the city and about making her home a better place.
Eagon definitely showed command of rhetoric and stirred emotion by saying local politics don’t have anything to do with national politics. I felt this undermined his own experiences with the Obama campaign. For someone so tied to a national campaign he seemed very pessimistic about the local population in relation to the national movement to elect the current president.
Wolf seemed to be the easiest to relate to, playing up his student status. But wanting to drink a beer with someone doesn’t make them a good alder. Schmidt seemed a little too buddy buddy with the police department. More police doesn’t equal more safety. I regret to say I don’t know more about either of these candidates.
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Katrina talked a little fast, but it seemed like she had the most to say on each issue. Minus the question about Eli which seemed to catch everyone off guard. Eagon was definitely the most prepared, but sounded very robotic. I think it will come down to Katrina and Eagon in the end.
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Ha, it’s so cute these kids running for office and thinking that what they do matters. Funny how every issue is over drinking….good ol Wisconsin.
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Flores hasn’t even voted in a local election for the better part of the last decade. If she can’t even rouse enough passion to vote for a candidate she endorsed (Lauren Woods), how is she supposed to sustain herself as an alder for 2 years.
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i was a little surprised no one attacked woulf about the entertainment licenses (eagon did but not that much)…they are only 250 dollars for the entire year, i’m pretty sure if bar owners felt that getting a license made any type of economical sense they would. Bar’s are not going to make money with underagers in their establishment.
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Kyle Szarzynski and Michael M Johnson please stop posting on the comment boards as it is really obvious. You have already been caught doing this and it is getting embarrassing. your candidate is going to lose anyways.