[media-credit name=’NATALIE WEINBERGER/Herald Photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]After another Halloween party in Madison required police to deploy pepper spray to disperse the crowd, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz may look to generate support to cancel the event next year.

According to George Twigg, communications director for the mayor, despite Cieslewicz's dislike for the celebration, he wants to gauge the community's perspective on Halloween before making any final decisions.

"The mayor wants to have a discussion about the future of the event with the citizens of Madison," Twigg said. "He is not going to make any snap judgments. The mayor wants to take a deep breath, look at the information and make an informed decision."

Twigg said for the mayor to cancel or take further action on the event, he would need a considerable swell of support from the City of Madison.

The mayor expressed his dissatisfaction with the Halloween celebration earlier this week.

"[W]hen we spend approximately $350,000, when [468] people are arrested, when detox is filled, we can't characterize this as a successful event," Cieslewicz said in the release.

But a proponent for the Halloween tradition, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said his downtown constituents — namely University of Wisconsin students and State Street businesses — have continued to defend the party.

"At least among the downtown stakeholders, there is considerable support," Verveer said. "The downtown economy, in some sense of the word, is built on this weekend. Business owners have sought me out to tell me to fight the mayor's stance on Halloween."

Verveer said he and the mayor seem to be viewing a different event.

"I find it offensive, quite frankly, when the mayor calls the event worthless," Verveer said. "It's not just the bar owners and the undergrads who support the event. The mayor isn't out there early in the night when families and middle-aged people are walking around State Street for the event."

But the cost of the celebration for taxpayers is one of the mayor's main concerns, according to Twigg.

"The event costs the city $350,000," Twigg said. "The question we have to ask is if that money is money we want to spend on this event."

However, Verveer said the Madison Police Department and city's presentation of the cost of the event has always been one-sided.

"Sure, the event may cost the $350,000," Verveer said. "What they don't acknowledge is the boost to the downtown economy and the tax revenue from sales and the money generated by citations. Last year, the city collected $250,000 in fines from the event. This year they will collect more because there were more citations and they raised the cost of the fines."

Verveer said this information tends to ease taxpayers' minds some when it comes to the cost of the celebration.

Twigg said if the mayor seeks to effectively cancel the event, Cieslewicz would plan to shut down all businesses on State Street during the Halloween 2006 weekend and barricade the street.

"[The mayor] has not taken a final stance with regard to Halloween," Twigg said. "We are still at the very beginning of this process. We want to determine whether it would be right or wrong in the minds of citizens to cancel the event."

UW senior Sam Boebel said he does not think the event should be canceled because it is a renowned celebration and encourages friends to stay in touch.

"Not only does the event enliven the downtown area," Boebel said, "but it is a tradition that [the University of Wisconsin] is known for. It gives friends from other areas a reason to come here, visit friends and put money in Madison's economy."