Paul Soglin

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Paul Soglin is the current Mayor-elect of Madison, making this his third stint as Madion's mayor. Soglin was first elected to the office in 1973. He was re-elected during the following two elections and served as Mayor of Madison until 1979. Following a break from office to work on his law career, Soglin returned as Madison’s Mayor for three additional terms from 1989 to 1997. Soglin sought re-election in 2003 against Dave Cieslewicz and lost by a narrow margin. Soglin won the 2011 primaries by three points[1]. He subsequently defeated then-Mayor Dave in the general election, earning 44,542 votes to Cieslewicz's 43,829.[2] He is a democrat.


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Early Life and Career

Soglin was born in Hyde Park, a neighborhood in Chicago. He graduated from Highland Park High School and earned his BA in History from the University of Wisconsin in 1966. He continued at UW to earn his law degree in 1972. During his time at UW, Soglin worked as a leader in campus protests against the Vietnam War and in favor of the Civil Rights Movement. Before obtaining his law degree, Soglin served on Madison’s Common Council, representing the eighth district from 1968-1974. In 1973, Soglin was elected the youngest mayor in Madison’s history. He won against incumbent Bill Dyke by a narrow margin. Soglin served five additional terms throughout the next several years. He left his position as Mayor of Madison in 1997 for an unsuccessful run for US Congress. In 2003, Soglin attempted another term as Madison’s Mayor, though he lost to current Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz in a close race. [3]

During Soglin’s first term as mayor, he successfully turned State Street into a pedestrian mall. Additionally, Soglin obtained $2.1 million in federal funding to maintain the Madison metro bus system. Under Soglin’s governing in 1973, Madison received an AAA bond rating, the highest rating possible for a municipality to highlight Soglin’s fiscal management. Soglin also contributed to the creation of the Neighborhood Resource Teams, which aided in decreasing gang activity and providing neighborhood improvements to strengthen communities. He also worked to build Monona Terrace, a well-known Madison landmark.

Currently, Soglin is working as an adjunct Association Professor at UW’s LaFollete School of Public Affairs[4]. Previously, he worked as the project manager at Epic Systems, a major Dane County software developer. He was also a financial advisor in the private sector.

Soglin is married with three daughters and lives on Madison’s west side.

Current Issues

Soglin said he is re-running for mayor to make sure the city comes together based on its own local contributions in order to fix the economy. He also said attention needs to be drawn to the 49 percent of Madison school children who come from households below the poverty line. Soglin said he would focus attention on providing assets to those students who he said may not be able to pay for higher education.

If elected to office, Soglin said he will meet with every member of City Council to get recommendations for appointments to city committees in order to diversify the committee system.

Soglin also said he will ensure the governmental, labor, business, and educational industries work together to create programs that will expand employment and development in the workforce for Madison’s residents.

Land use and transportation goals will also play a key role of Soglin’s tenure if re-elected to the office.

During recent mayoral debates, Soglin said he was concerned the AAA bond rating in Madison is under attack by the city’s debt service. If Soglin is reelected in April, he said he would reintroduce his former Quality Program which he said saved the city millions of dollars. Soglin has also criticized Gov. Scott Walker’s derailment of Wisconsin’s high speed rail project.[5]


Criticisms

Soglin has been criticized for routinely leaving the position and suddenly returning, forcing other members of the political arena to question his commitment to the job. Politicians have also condemned Soglin for trying to bring back old policies that have failed in the past.

External Links

References

  1. ↑ http://badgerherald.com/news/2011/02/15/cieslewicz_soglin_to.php Cieslewicz, Soglin to face off in April’s mayoral race
  2. ↑ http://badgerherald.com/news/2011/04/06/deja_vu_liberal_madi.php Déjà vu: Liberal Madison recycles mayor
  3. ↑ http://badgerherald.com/news/2003/04/02/soglin_concedes_at_a.php Soglin concedes at Angelic
  4. ↑ http://badgerherald.com/news/2008/09/04/ex-mayor_returns_to_.php Ex-mayor returns to teaching at UW
  5. ↑ http://badgerherald.com/news/2011/02/24/madisons_mayoral_can.php Madison’s mayoral candidates face off in forum
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