The Badger Herald: Opinion: ALR-C you in three

Updated Tuesday, December 8, 2009, at 8:21 a.m.

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Opinion: Editorial

ALR-C you in three

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Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:

Inching toward legalization (November 23, 2009)
Dissent: An impaired decision (November 23, 2009)
Nike contracts: Nix or fix (November 20, 2009)
Another justified denial (November 19, 2009)
Woulf at the door (November 18, 2009)

By Badger Herald Editorial Board
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 3:09 a.m.

1 Vote 0 Votes

Last night, the City Council voted to add a two voting seats to the ALRC: another alder member and a citizen member, who according to an agreement between Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and District 8 Ald. Bryon Eagon, will be a student. We view Tuesday’s vote as a win for student representation in city politics. The fact that all but two alders were in favor of the compromise between Mr. Cieslewicz and Mr. Eagon allowing for a three-year appointment of a Madison college student to the Alcohol License Review Committee is humbling in light of our efforts over the past several weeks.

But it’s sad to see how close we got to that guaranteed seat — just one vote away. So instead of claiming total victory, we must examine some of the concerns raised by the council.

Mr. Cieslewicz, in our editorial yesterday, we referred to you as “student-friendly” when it comes to this issue. We retract that statement. We find it disheartening that you would characterize a diverse group of 58,500 Madison citizens as an interest group along the same lines as the Tavern League and the university. As Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, said, we do not all share one opinion, therefore, it is unfair to paint us as de facto lobbyists.

Further, Mr. Mayor, it’s pretty clear you wanted nothing to do with the guaranteed seat, and the compromise was just your way of throwing Mr. Eagon a bone for some good work. Your “slippery slope” argument, in which the guaranteed student vote will cause other “specific groups” to demand a vote on city committees, is entirely ludicrous and was thoroughly debunked prior to your statements.

As put by Associated Students of Madison Rep. Erik Paulson — our colleague and one of many ASM members at the meeting — we elect the mayor and the council to keep the city from going down slippery slopes. That’s why you’re there: to govern well. And if you let UW administration or Tavern League somehow trick you into getting a committee vote, then we can vote you out of office. Plain and simple.

Additionally, the mayor, the Tavern League and some alders called into question whether or not the ALRC should have a seat designated specifically for a student.

Ald. Lauren Cnare, District 3, correctly pointed out that many committees have voting seats designated for certain segments of the population. Mr. Cieslewicz fails to realize these seats serve a purpose on some crucial issues, as would a guaranteed student vote on issues such as the Alcohol Density License Plan, which is scheduled for review in 2010.

And the Dane County Tavern League continued to shoot themselves in the foot with illogical arguments from President Barb Mercer. But we’ve had enough fun with her.

Students deserve more say on city committees. And we thank Ms. Cnare, Mr. Eagon, Ms. Bidar-Sielaff and the seven other alders who voted in favor of the original proposal for trusting us to serve on the ALRC.

However, we particularly want to thank Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, who, following an offensive line of questioning from Ald. Thuy Pham-Remmele, District 20, motioned to bring the guaranteed seat back under consideration after Mr. Eagon backed down. We congratulate her for staying out of the smoky back room and standing up for the better plan, even if the attempt was in vain.

Moving forward, we as a student body have been given a three-year opportunity to prove ourselves to the council and the mayor. If, three years from now, we have a student in that seat performing well, our case for a guaranteed seat will be even stronger.

So, to whomever the mayor picks, whether it be current nonvoting representative Mark Woulf or somebody else, keep this in mind: We’ll be watching you. We’ll be watching your attendance records, we’ll be watching how you assert yourself on the committee, and we’ll be watching how you vote.

Don’t allow laziness or indifference to ruin this chance we have to prove ourselves worthy of fair representation in city government.

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