OPINION & EDITORIAL
Dear Dave: Post this near your desk
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Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:
- A security fee-for-all (December 11, 2007)
- Farewell, Chancellor (December 10, 2007)
- $$FC (December 6, 2007)
- In a bind (December 5, 2007)
- Entitlement Town (December 4, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Veering off track (February 5, 2007)
- Big budget, big plans (October 3, 2006)
- City Council must discuss ALRC with students (May 10, 2007)
- Folding blind (August 31, 2007)
- Total Recall (October 20, 2005)
by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Thursday, April 17, 2003
This being new mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s third day on the job, his tenure is still pristine and seems to be most easily characterized by cliché. He asked City Council to bear with him while he “learns the ropes.” While shaking off the sour grapes and hoping to see a change of tide with a new Council president, he’s already pinching pennies and sowing oats. But much can dwell beneath a fairy-tale-smooth surface.
Mr. Mayor, success will be yours if you ride these clichés through, turning jokes and jargon into progress for Madison.
Here are our suggestions, in a token checklist to be posted by your desk.
Keep up the charisma. From what we’ve seen, your sense of humor might just have the power to carry you through excruciating City Council meetings or help you endure the horrible excuse for a cafeteria in the City/County Building. Do not, under any circumstances, roll your eyes at a City Council meeting. Picking nails, biting lips and reading newspapers should also be avoided.
Don’t feel like you need to take up UW business. Student housing and living issues are important to those living off campus, but your Council will be wasting its time by passing official opinions on university activity, like last night’s endorsement of Shadow Day. That has effectiveness akin to voting on anything involving The Dixie Chicks. Learn all of the police officers’ names.
Follow through on your promises to work with law enforcement to avoid — if not ban — crackdowns on bars and house parties. Also, feel free to meet with the chancellor and RWJ to give them a piece of your (and the students’) mind. You’ve lived here 22 years; you know the city. As with any government job, it’s easy to get holed up in your office. Get out, and keep your awareness of every nook and cranny of ever-changing Madison strong. Be it Langdon Street or Allied Drive, explore your city from time-to-time.
Make sure your cast of appointments to cabinet positions and city jobs reflects the composition of the city. A diverse staff, both ethnically and politically, will be an asset. “Disagree without being disagreeable.” You said it best at Tuesday’s council meeting.
With that noted, don’t plan on running on fumes from the honeymoon period for long. With an evenly divided council and diametric characters on Council like Austin King and Tim Bruer on board, sparks are sure to fly, and you need to be prepared to either squelch or stoke the flames. But don’t let things go too smoothly. Compromise might calm the seas, but leagues of progress cannot be made without wind or waves. Getting the Overture Center done, and soon, will be one issue to test your combat skills on.
*Don’t move to one of the Capitol Loop townhouses. Sure, traffic is bad, and you would be closer to students, but there is no need to follow in Bauman’s footsteps in any regard. So don’t.
