OPINION & EDITORIAL
Stopping Dane’s District 5 yawn
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Also by Jason Smathers:
- Divided we stand, united we fall? (January 21, 2008)
- Your Christmas gift: Lighten up! (December 13, 2007)
- America in dire need of education on gender identity (December 7, 2007)
Related Stories:
- How to win a board game (January 15, 2006)
- Lapidus for Dane County Board (February 16, 2006)
- District 5 dishonesty (November 29, 2001)
- Progressive Dane puts student issues after leftist agenda (November 21, 2002)
- Lapidus for County Board (March 30, 2006)
by Jason Smathers
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Which is a better summation of the Dane County Board race: The battle of who cares less or the battle of who knows less?
Answer: Meh.
That seems to be the general response of the University of Wisconsin student body. Of course, that’s fairly normal. Whenever some political entity responds to a vacant seat on Madison City Council, Dane County Board of Supervisors or even — perhaps especially — the Associated Students of Madison, the campus community usually responds with a giant shrug.
Yet, this race is even worse. Not only is the general student body out of the picture, but the political entities usually providing the main thrust seem to have no interest in it.
Once Dane County Supervisor Ashok Kumar decided two years was enough, and David Lapidus bowed out of contention, the interest dropped right out of the race. This resulted in the College Democrats, a group graced with the stellar candidacy of Eli Judge for the District 8 alder race, with a tough situation — looking among their membership for someone willing to take on the challenge.
Conor O’Hagan, ASM freshman representative and a College Democrats member, gladly decided to throw himself into the ring. While some members of the College Dems have participated in helping his campaign, the organization firmly denies any official ties. And while this distance is certainly to keep College Democrats in good standing, it is also a preventive measure — if Mr. O’Hagan turns out to be stellar candidate, they will certainly swing their force behind him, but if he’s a dud, they’ll be justified in distancing themselves from him.
Then we come to Wyndham Manning. While Mr. Manning readily admits that he started his campaign as a half-joke based on pointing out local government inefficiencies, his spur-of-the-moment serious tone earned him the endorsement of Progressive Dane. Did they question him? Perhaps. However, considering the fact that the only edge Mr. Manning has over Mr. O’Hagan is that he mentions the words “progressive” and “radical” every once in a while, PD couldn’t have thought that hard about the endorsement.
Both organizations are playing the role of disengaged mother who watches her child from a distant bench as he plays on the swings. “Oh, what’s that?” Mom murmurs disconnectedly, “You want to run for office? That’s fine, honey, just stay where I can see you.” It’s a rather depressing chain of events that those organizations would usually work to counteract — the student body must get involved and know the issues for anything resembling democratic progress to take place. However, the organizations must care in order to act. Since they don’t, they won’t act. The student body doesn’t care, they also won’t turn up at the polls and candidates are confronted with a tough decision: Do you join the apathy conga line or break the trend?
So how do you get students to care about county board? Erase the past and start again.
First off, stop pinning all things bright and terrible in the 5th district on Ashok Kumar. Whether you think Mr. Kumar deserves a statue for making sure those jailed don’t have to pay $30 per phone call or think he should be whipped in a public square for missing a Dane County Board meeting, he is pulling up the grass roots and moving to more fertile soil. While we could take the time to debate the legacy of the infamous Mr. Kumar, don’t waste your time.
Let me sum it up so we can move on: He passed perhaps 1 1/2 decent pieces of legislation, made a spectacle of himself and left. The fact that “Ashok, where you at?” is a less common phrase then, “Who?” is reason enough to know that the undergraduate student body couldn’t care less. Using his record as a rallying cry in either direction is maybe more polarizing than the man himself. Send him a box of chocolates or a “Dear John” letter and move on.
Secondly, the candidates need to strip themselves of this notion that they’re “representing” District 5 — they, along with a few concerned graduate students and undergraduate anomalies, are District 5. If they intend to galvanize the student body, it’s not enough to be a public servant; they have to be policy architects. While one might argue there are student issues at the city level — safety, tenant rights and the war against modern day prohibition, just to name a few — Dane County has no easy access issues. Sure, one could argue the algae bloom in Lake Mendota kept many from enjoying Terrace events, but then again, how many wrote their supervisor and how many just squirmed in their seat and scrunched their face?
Instead of playing to their needs, the next district supervisor has to create them. Mr. Kumar obviously appealed to student’s desire for progressive change by campaigning on an agenda of environmental protection, criminal justice reform and kicking Wal-Mart out of Dane County. (Well, one out of five is something.) Right now, the candidates have mentioned the environment, but there aren’t any concrete policies on the table other than Mr. O’Hagan’s Vilas Zoo remodeling project — I’m sure you’ve got Koko’s vote.
Believe me, I empathize with the candidates when I hear them reference the lack of representation here. But you’ve got to have a definitive idea of where to go. Tourism, lake cleanup, and clean and efficient regional transit are good starts, but you need to be prepared to deliver it.
I know, easier said than done.
Jason Smathers (jsmathers@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in journalism and history.
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 2:22am):
ASHOK, WHERE YOU AT???@??@?@?@?!?!?!?!?!
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 6:03am):
<<Conor OHagan, ASM freshman representative and a College Democrats member, gladly decided to throw himself into the ring. While some members of the College Dems have participated in helping his campaign, the organization firmly denies any official ties.>>
Conor was not a member of the College Democrats until last night. The endorsement is up for grabs on the 6th.
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 7:49am):
Wyndham has been very active over the past two weeks meeting with current Dane County and city leadership. After meeting with Wyndham the UW Dems Executive Board decided not to endorse either candidate and instead will leave that decision up to the membership at the general meeting. He has also been very active knocking on doors throughout the district.
Just a handful of items he has been working on:
"Introducing manure digesters and similar ideas that rethink the notion of waste byproducts by turning them into viable resources, in this case removing harmful elements such as phosphorus from running into our watersources and cogenerating electricity and heat from the methane exhausted. This can be done via Chapter 80 of the Code of Ordinances through the county's Lakes and Watershed Authority."
He is currently investigating the potentiality of introducing a "lakefront property sales tax" in order to make individuals who purchase properties on the lakes more accountable.
Wyndham is aware of the lack of domestic abuse shelters in Dane County. This is a need that has not been addressed by the board in recent years and he will make it a priority to establish more safe houses for women.
It appears that the legislature won't be able to get a statewide smoking ban done this session, so Wyndham will be working on a Countywide ordinance.
When is the Badger Herald debate? Wyndham is ready.
-Jesse
Campaign Manager
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 8:31am):
Ashok got more done than all other previous district 5 supervisors put together, period. He actually TRIED.
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 11:52am):
Jesse, get your hands off of Wyndham - your pawn. You are going to find out if you keep trying to play this game of chess this is going to turn into war. We'll make you as big of an issue as your candidate's lack of experience.
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 12:21pm):
I like Wyndham :-)
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 12:30pm):
I hope Conor didn't get hurt when he threw himself into the race.
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 12:41pm):
11:52,
Like 9 people care about what you just said. Maybe double that know who Jesse is, so stop trying to make yourself feel important. This is going to turn into a war? If a war is fought on the streets of UW-Madison and no students cares, is it really a war?
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 2:00pm):
You give me entirely too much credit, Mr. Anonymous.
Thanks though.
-Jesse
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 2:53pm):
Why do both these candidates suck? Don't you have to have actually done stuff to get elected? Kumar ran a two year campaign against tuition hikes, organized state-wide hunger strikes at the capital, sit-ins against the war, and authored the campus living wage by the time he had announced. These goofballs are saying they are "progressive" and expect support. 2 years ago the campus was speckled with red "vote kumar' buttons, this election is a complete bore.
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 3:10pm):
2:53,
Are you kidding me? No one knew of it then. No one cares now.
The Judge-Woods race was about as good as you'll ever see campus campaigning/interest in a local race. I voted for Lauren, but Judge is fine. Still, they both had specific policies and campaigned like hell.
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 5:18pm):
I want to hear from Wyndham and O'Hagan, not their campaign managers!
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 5:27pm):
...."lakefront property sales tax" in order to make individuals who purchase properties on the lakes more accountable....
Ha! Lakefront properties already go for $750,000+. If you have this much money already invested in your home and the county adds an additional .5% tax, who the hell cares? It won't improve the quality of the lake and only drives home values up. Oh yea, only the richest .05% should get that privilege. I forgot. Its like taxing cooperate America an extra $300 every year and think employment practices will change over night.
Who came up with this idea?
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 6:28pm):
"I want to hear from Wyndham and O'Hagan, not their campaign managers!"
We didn't hear from Oliver though...only Jesse.
Hahahaha
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 7:08pm):
5:27 --
The answer to the "who came up with the idea", question. I believe the lakefront property sales tax was originally conceived by Kumar for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund subcommittee. He said that he would initiate it in his press release: http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/Nov07/nov14/1114kumarreelect.pdf
Its good that Manning is taking a lot of Kumar's positions. No doubt, it will lead to his victory.
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 8:14pm):
The fact that Jason Smathers is a caricature of himself isn't in question. What's pathetic here is that he genuinely believes he is clever or witty or a journalist. Who is he kidding? To act as if he doesn't care about these issues, its like he's lying to himself and everyone can see through it. If you've ever talked to him you realize that his brain is the size of a pea and his voice sounds like a Johnny Gilbert-affectation. He sounds like a he's faking a radio-voice.
Why doesn't he ever take those retarded headphones off? Come on - if any of Smathers' none-existent friends are reading this PLEASE LET HIM KNOW. Its like letting someone walk around with spinach on their teeth, its simply cruel. I don't give a shit about any of this column but to say those smug comments about kumar is not only fallacious but another example of Smathers bad journalism. Kumar has passed over 9 policies and authored dozens more (his term isn't even done yet). Not only that but he has led the fight for funding of rehabilitation programs, and against petty drug enforcement funding.
Smathers, time after time, proves that he takes his talking points from a few bloggers rather then investigating false accusations LIKE A JOURNALIST about Kumar's supposed "absences". Dude, seriously, I mean this only to save you time and disappointment, find something you are good at cuz this journalism thing isn't your calling.
- JB
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 9:15pm):
Conor seems like he'd be a decent rep, but lord knows I'll be at Wyndham's election eve party come April 1.
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 12:38am):
District 5 just keeps farting on the city.
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 4:28am):
Ashok Kumar missed almost 25% of his meetings. Many of these 'accomplishments' he cites were in fact, other members of the Dane Board working with him, to pass things that already liberal board agreed with.
His legislative victories go from Bejing 2008 to the Special Olympics of 2010 very quickly.
Oh, he also said he hates small business. Too bad we can't all be as rich as Ashok's parents.
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 8:54pm):
This entire race is ridiculous. Who is actually running, the named candidates or their backers? I've heard far more about and from Jesse than Wyndham, most of that being shameless ass-kissing by his fellow stuck-up gossip peddlers. And Smathers is dead on about Conor being a blank slate and cheap, half-hearted investment by the College Dems and their similarly overly-inflated egos. It's clear District 5 means dick to students here when you have such bald-faced surrogate candidacies.
Shorter District 5 race: Self-obsessed hipsters versus resume-hungry newbies. Both of these clowns make Ashok look better in hindsight. That's sad.
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