So she may have dropped the ball in the attorney general's race, but Kathleen Falk certainly made up for it by finalizing what she deems to be a "darn good" 2007 county budget. And darn good it is.

In what many expected to be a time in which Falk would put her role as Dane County Executive on the back burner, she instead focused her attention away from her (still unofficial) loss to Republican J.B. Van Hollen and developed a budget that is expected to receive approval by the Dane County Board without much debate.

Although Democrats enjoyed seeing many of their candidates succeed in the Wisconsin mid-term election, Falk was one of the more surprising losses on the state's ballot. And so ensued concerns by her supporters that her liberal ideas — including rehabilitating drug offenders (rather than just locking them up) and efficiently delegating duties to those below her (like the Madison Police Department) — would be thrown away along with her outdated campaign yard signs.

But Falk fans can un-furrow their brows; the county budget reflects much of what Falk claimed she would bring to the position of attorney general, and despite losing that race, she has seemingly not forgotten her various campaign promises. Although the election results are unlikely to change, the new budget (one that determines the monetary expenditures for the second-largest county in the state) proves we are lucky to still have Falk in some sort of influential capacity, even if it is not the one we originally hoped for.

It is because of her "sound administrative skills" that The Badger Herald editorial board chose to endorse Falk for attorney general position in the first place, and her impressive ability in balancing such a large budget has proved remarkable yet again. When meeting with Falk, her insistence on improving rehabilitation options for drug offenders placed her on a level of her own, as she was committed to stopping the problem at its roots, unlike other officials who would rather only have a sound prison system. And this is exactly what the budget reflects: Falk wants to see Dane County improve from the bottom up.

The city budget totals $450 million — the result of an additional 50 amendments — and $110 million will be paid for by property taxes. Like any budget, there is a laundry list of provisions that will receive funding, but there is an overwhelming and apparent emphasis on the improvement of the quality of life for Wisconsinites as well as the resources they are provided. Two areas that received a substantial hike in funding are mental health services and additional resources for inmates struggling with mental illness or substance abuse. Additional aid was also allocated for land conservation and protection.

In yet another instance of Falk's concern for the community, the Dane County Sheriff's Office received an $11 million increase in funding to help pay for more deputies, patrol cars and better facilities for drug and alcohol abusers. Falk's position on increasing funding for police enforcement was made very clear during campaign season; critics claimed her passion about rehabilitation was purely a technique to gain voters and set herself apart from Van Hollen, but as seen in the city budget, her intentions were not disingenuous. With safety being such a hot-button issue on campus, this portion of the budget is especially relevant to University of Wisconsin students. This is the money that the Madison Police Department needs in order to ensure fewer robberies and assaults occur in downtown Madison.

As for specific programs for mental health patients and inmates, more money will be allotted for health programs aimed at keeping these patients away from city jails, thus reducing the cost of maintaining those facilities for taxpayers.

So, although the election outcome may not have been exactly what the Democrats wanted, Falk's position as Dane County Executive is comparable in both importance and in the inherent ability to impact the politics of the state. The 2007 budget shows Dane County residents have not been forgotten in the election mayhem and, in fact, are still very much on Falk's mind.

Emily Friedman ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and legal studies.