While Legislative Affairs committee members said at their March 1 meeting they are sure a planned County Board debate will go as planned, a date for the debate remains tentative.
The debate is planned to take place March 16 and will be between Analiese Eicher and Michael Johnson. Both are running for positions on the County Board of Supervisors, for which an election is set for April 6.
Vice Chair Kyle Woolwich said Legislative Affairs has not yet been able to contact the campaign managers of the candidates who would come to debate, which is why the date for the debate remains tentative.
Adam Johnson said it is important for students to know what differentiates these candidates, as well as how they respond to the questions that students ask and how they react to each other, primarily because students are the only ones who are able to vote for these candidates in District 5.
Johnson also mentioned members of the board set a lot of policies that directly affect students, including transportation and the environment.
The committee discussed a salient legislative issue in the downtown area of Madison: the lighting of streets and alleys at night.
The proposal covers a vast amount of the downtown area, spanning districts 2, 4, 8, 9 and part of 13, and is important for all students who travel by foot at night when neighborhoods are incredibly dark and dangerous to walk in, Vice Chair Sam Polstein said.
The legislation grants reimbursement for up to 50 percent of project costs, so the landlords would get back half of the cost to install lighting on the outsides of their properties.
Polstein said he wants to get the word out. The committee agreed the darkest, most dangerous neighborhoods at night are the “sophomore slums” and other areas on Langdon Street, and should be the first areas targeted to increase awareness of the proposal.
Polstein proposed some of the best ways to get the word out about the lighting issue would be to target a few landlords to see if they would be willing to install lights on the outside of their buildings and to hand out and post flyers around the neighborhoods.
The committee also discussed the recent attempts of the Alcohol License Review Subcommittee to amend the Alcohol License Density Plan, a city alcohol policy that puts restrictions on the number of establishments that serve alcohol that are allowed to be in a certain area. It particularly targets full bars in an attempt to limit the amount of drinking in downtown Madison.
Because of this legislation, it is nearly impossible for new bars to enter the community, which may be keeping bad bars in business because there is no new competition.
The Alcohol License Review Subcommittee will meet this Thursday at 4 p.m. in room 108 of the City County Building to discuss ALDP.
