OPINION & EDITORIAL
Judge for District 8?
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
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:
- District 5 dishonesty (November 29, 2001)
- Absence no excuse (March 6, 2007)
- Civility and responsibility: Sign here. (November 4, 2002)
- A King's charge (April 6, 2005)
- District 8 endorsement (April 1, 2003)
by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Thursday, March 22, 2007
The history of the present King of District 8 is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over the city of Madison. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid city.
Austin King first took over Madison's District 8 seat, which represents many University of Wisconsin students living downtown, in 2003 when he was just 21 years old. And when he declared in December that he would not seek re-election, he said he wanted to see his seat remain in the hands of students.
But what many District 8 residents don't know is that one day before he officially announced he would leave the post, Mr. King was already garnering signatures — according to an Isthmus report — for his own hand-picked replacement: Lauren Woods. While it is not unusual for a lame-duck public official to endorse the candidate he thinks will be his best replacement, Mr. King's actions single-handedly guaranteed an election devoid of depth in its range of candidates.
In the race for who will fill Mr. King's District 8 seat, voters will have to choose between two candidates so similar, they are practically the same person. The few students who actually go to the polls and those voting absentee will be charged with the task of nitpicking their way through the two candidates to make a choice.
It should go without saying that a lack of ideological diversity in any election is a problem. And furthermore, under what circumstances should elected officials get to choose their own successors?
Mr. King was so focused on choosing Ms. Woods as his replacement, he didn't even wait to see which other District 8 residents were willing to throw their hats into the ring. We can't help but wonder what kind of deal Mr. King and Ms. Woods brokered in order to form such a premature alliance.
And when voters go to the polls, it likely won't matter whether they choose Ms. Woods or her opponent, Eli Judge. They have nearly indistinguishable platforms, and both have respectable public-service experience. Both have vowed to make downtown safety a priority and have voiced opposition to the Alcohol Density Plan, which would limit the number of new bars in the downtown area.
And though there are few areas where Mr. Judge and Ms. Woods disagree, we suggest voters ultimately choose Mr. Judge when they tally their absentee forms or head to the polls in two weeks.
We think Mr. Judge's more grounded plan to immediately attack downtown crime would better serve the needs of District 8 residents. While we appreciate Ms. Woods' dedication to safety, we believe some of her plans ignore the fact that the city operates on a limited budget. Mr. Judge's downtown safety plans are more realistic and fiscally responsible. He has been pitching his approach to solve the problem of attacks downtown that involves more grassroots solutions, like bolstering volunteer efforts and promoting programs that help residents protect themselves from crime.
No matter how many minute differences we can find in the two candidates, this year's election for the District 8 seat will be known not for the bickering or attack ads, but for the indistinguishable platforms of Mr. Judge and Ms. Woods.
Perhaps if Mr. King had challenged residents in his district to win his endorsement, voters would have had a race that was really worth getting excited about. Instead, they will have to get out the magnifying glass just to figure out whom to choose.
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 2:52am):
BH and DC? Solid.
I'm proud to support Eli Judge!
Eli Judge- a student voice for safer streets!
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 3:27am):
Beware, loyal reader, beware!
Let the King Austinian bullhorns blare forth from the caves and chambers of crazy land. Let the sleek, sly, and sarcastic slurs of socialist slander slam across the much-heralded battlefield: the Badger Herald Message Board!
Go, my minions, attack! Show these fools to be out of touch for not endorsing my puppet, Ms. Woods! I am Austin King! How dare you oppose me!?
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 4:18am):
For fuck's sake, this campaign will go down in notoriety for the incredible amount of wasted time and energy spent attacking a respected, effective outgoing alder.
Un-fucking-believable the amount of time and energy the moderate left spends attacking the boogeyman in this town. Maybe if they'd grow a pair and learn to get things done on issues instead of being such partisan hacks, they'd be the ones in office more often.
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 4:50am):
"Never in my six years on campus has a student newspaper been this radically out of touch with its readership"
http://www.dailycardinal.com/opinion/district-8-candidates-respond-to-endorsement.html
Make it 8 years?
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 7:23am):
Victor Blake Marx thinks there would have been a poetic thread to the editorial had it ended by declaring its favor of an independent candidate. But, alas, Victor Blake Marx also likes Eli Judge, so he, unlike the King of Mad.., err, umm, England, is fine with this.
-Victor Blake Marx
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 8:12am):
A conservative Editorial Board endorses Ray Allen for Mayor and Eli Judge for Council - is anyone surprised?
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 8:15am):
SWEEP
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 8:46am):
Its nice to see that practicality wins here. I'm not against Lauren's ideas, I just don't think they are very practical given the reality of the situation.
In a case like this, this district needs someone who can get down to work with imediate goals that can be implemented. I am gald the BH thinks so too.
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 9:07am):
Arrgh, Eli, ye have now been stricken with the Curse of the Badger Herald(r)! If ye win, it be the first time ever that a candidate with the Curse prevail! Good luck to you, that you do not meet the fate of David Lapidus, who is now stranded and presumed dead at LIB!
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 10:27am):
Hopefully the fact that Eli Judge also earned the Daily Cardinal's endorsement will negate the so-called "curse"
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 11:04am):
conservative editorial board? lol
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 12:32pm):
"Arrgh, Eli, ye have now been stricken with the Curse of the Badger Herald(r)! If ye win, it be the first time ever that a candidate with the Curse prevail! Good luck to you, that you do not meet the fate of David Lapidus, who is now stranded and presumed dead at LIB!"
Vedder got the BH endorsement in 2002 and won.
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 2:28pm):
"For fuck's sake, this campaign will go down in notoriety for the incredible amount of wasted time and energy spent attacking a respected, effective outgoing alder.
Un-fucking-believable the amount of time and energy the moderate left spends attacking the boogeyman in this town. Maybe if they'd grow a pair and learn to get things done on issues instead of being such partisan hacks, they'd be the ones in office more often."
Thanks for your input Ashok.
U smell like poo.
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 2:45pm):
No, that post was Austin King, after he got back from KNOCKING ON DOORS. Yep. Graduated 4 years ago, but still hangs out in the dorms!
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 3:59pm):
Danny S. wrote half of this editorial. I can tell.
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 5:10pm):
Students don't care about this race. Out of my entire floor, 5 kids intend to vote in this election. I think most for the mayor and judge, but the point is: stop trolling each other!
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 5:39pm):
Hey, it's the first BH endorsement of ANYONE in District 8 in 6 years. The BH is hard to please.
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 5:41pm):
Also, very funny BH:
"We can't help but wonder what kind of deal Mr. King and Ms. Woods brokered in order to form such a premature alliance."
Is sexual implied?
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 9:41pm):
@ 2:28pm
Sweet fuckin' Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you people? How can you possibly be that obsessed with Austin and Ashok, neither of whom wrote the 4:18am post? I'm just another fucking wonky, unelected insomniac who occasionally pays attention to this shit - hell, I'm not even a member of PD.
But it's really, really fucking MINDBOGGLING the simultaneous persecution complex and insane jealousy simmering beneath DPDC and their little wannabes, the UW College Democrats' rabid attacks against people who dare to get shit done without kowtowing to their partisan hierarchy.
And again, as far as every post on here accusing every other post of being either Austin, Ashok, or Eli - grow the fuck up, this is the WORLD WIDE web last time I checked. But whatever. Have fun masturbating over your boogeymen.
Anonymous (March 22, 2007 @ 11:46pm):
"And again, as far as every post on here accusing every other post of being either Austin, Ashok, or Eli - grow the fuck up, this is the WORLD WIDE web last time I checked. But whatever. Have fun masturbating over your boogeymen."
Do you live in Indonesia or Congo?
I bet you're in Madison.
Pwned.
Anonymous (March 23, 2007 @ 1:30am):
OMG I'm so totally pwned because I live in Madison, what are you, 12? My point still stands - you people are irrationally obesessed with Austin and Ashok. This whole campaign season, I don't remember Lauren getting attacked at all, and she's the fucking candidate. My point stands: the moderate left is retarded for needing their white whale.
Anonymous (March 23, 2007 @ 4:41am):
When the moderate left beats you, let's see you keep mouthing off, you communist piece of shit.
Anonymous (March 23, 2007 @ 7:07am):
9:41PM is either Austin King (who was knocking inside uw dorms over the past week) or one of his close friends. It's pretty obvious you post most of the anti-Judge and anti-College Democrats stuff. By process of elimination, you are one of three or four people.
Also, unlike what SLAC is to Woods, the College Democrats "base" is hardly a force, both typing and campaigning for Judge, so check your facts.
Anonymous (March 23, 2007 @ 6:28pm):
Sweep! Good work Mr. Judge. You've got our vote.
-Adoring female fans in Ogg.
Anonymous (March 23, 2007 @ 8:52pm):
Perhaps I'm the only one who noticed, but Austin King did a pretty awesome job for the last four years. I don't know what the backstory is on his support for Lauren (is it possible he finds her the most qualified?), but it seems a bit odd not to mention that he has basically spent the last four years kicking people's asses and getting things done. It's sad to see the College Dems (of which I was a member as an undergrad) attacking him like this. You all should aspire to do so much as Austin has, instead of just sitting around hoping to get a shitty job in the Capitol. And no, conspiracy theorists, I'm not Ashok or Austin or anything like that. Just a fan of his legislative body of work (especially this lightbulb thing!).
Anonymous (March 24, 2007 @ 3:57am):
Austin King has been a creep behind the scenes on this. Yet, I don't think most College Democrats, even their chair, really think poorly about the vast majority of work King did. I attended a party in which King and many College Democrats were present and it was all smiles. This election is just people being pissy with one another. However, there are legit critiques about his focus on national issues and the increase in crime over the four years of his leadership.
Also, the sheer fact you mention "College Democrats" when almost none (if not exactly zero) of these critiques are coming from CDems, indicates you are walking directly in line with the PD talking points on this race. Because they didn't endorse Woods, King and Kumar are using the College Democrats as the symbol of oppression to rile up the Emma Goldman/BSU crowd. It's absurd, given that most of the College Democrats are good liberals, they just happen to be friends with Eli. Then again, Ashok and Austin *are* the arbiters of truth and justice in this world we call Madison...
So 8:52pm, don't try and come across as the "moderate outsider" in your message. You're nothing but another hack.
Anonymous (March 24, 2007 @ 9:02pm):
"It's sad to see the College Dems (of which I was a member as an undergrad) attacking him like this."
Quoth Mr. Austin King:
"Don't make us beat the college democrats in this race."
Anonymous (March 25, 2007 @ 3:17am):
Eli, congrats on the sweep man. Give 'em hell.
Anonymous (March 25, 2007 @ 7:33pm):
To bad that Woods and Judge weren't running for ASM.
- Germain E. Stemme
Anonymous (March 26, 2007 @ 12:33am):
Eli!!! you're my hero! you're going to do great!
Anonymous (March 26, 2007 @ 2:50am):
wait, I'm sorry, Lauren Woods critiques Eli Judge's stance on the watch programs (a HUGE difference in the candidates that the Herald editorial board should note) and then has her campaign manager publically support them in Monday's edition of the paper.
Anonymous (March 26, 2007 @ 4:23pm):
Why is it bad that King went in the dorms? After all, aren't they his current constituency? Is it really so wrong that he meets face to face with his voters, unlike most of our cowardly, lobbyist-loving politicians?
Anonymous (March 26, 2007 @ 5:36pm):
Because it's against housing policy for non-resident students of a residence hall to enter that residence hall if they are not personally accompanied by a resident of that hall at all times. King fails to meet this requirement.
In fact, King isn't even a student, and hasn't been for some time. Just because he hangs around with them because he's lacking in friends doesn't mean he gets special priveleges.
Also, it's against housing policy to campaign door to door, like King and his campaign are doing (yes, his campaign, not hers. she's a puppet).
At least Judge's campaign staffers are students. King, on the other hand, uses tons of non-student creepies to spread his propaganda.
(Also, check out the shoutouts -- search "female alder" and see what one housing resident has to say about the creepies in her residence hall and their tactics)
Anonymous (March 26, 2007 @ 6:53pm):
It's illegal, first of all, and second, he shouldn't be trusted in an 18 year old girls room.
Anonymous (March 26, 2007 @ 10:06pm):
Way to loosely quote the Declaration of Independence ... Austin King would be much worse than King George III if he had comparable power.
Anonymous (March 31, 2007 @ 11:08am):
Finally! A candidate with PRACTICAL ideology!
Vote Judge!
PS...why so much hate on Danny S? He's a nice guy!
---Im gonna go out and say my name is Meredith, just so no one mistakes me for Eli, Danny, or the Boogeyman, just incase people decide to be paranoid or something.
Anonymous (April 8, 2007 @ 12:32am):
Matt Berg, you're a hack.
Add a comment
We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.
Login...
Not registered? Sign up now.
It's quick, free, and the email address you provide will not be sold or solicited.
