For the last two years, I’ve served as the 2nd District alder on the Madison Common Council. I am proud of my time serving as alder and hope to earn your vote to represent the 2nd District for another two years. I am confident my hard work, advocacy, passion and accomplishments during my first term, combined with my ideas for the future, make me the strongest candidate to represent the neighborhoods, interests and residents of Madison’s 2nd District.
Specifically on items of interest to the campus community, in my first term I spearheaded bringing WSUM to the table as the organizer of entertainment and vendors at the 2009 Mifflin Street Block Party. I introduced the motion to designate a specific student seat onto the ALRC and have continued to support the Downtown Safety Initiative, which has driven nighttime campus-area crime rates down. I worked with Panhellenic to make the campus’ Bid Day a safer event. I was the lead author on legislation to provide for tenants to have a longer window of time to consider a renewal notice, remove the loophole for leasing under non-standard rental provisions and push the renewal date to later than November 15th. I worked with City Engineering to ensure that Langdon Street will receive improved pedestrian-scale street lighting this summer.
In the last two years I have brought over $6 million in resources and infrastructure projects from the city directly into my neighborhood. Separately, the passage of the Edgewater Hotel project will bring to the Langdon Street neighborhood a public terrace as large as the Memorial Union Terrace, over 350 underground parking stalls, two restaurants, a caf? and a walkway along the lake that will connect with James Madison Park.
The city is heading into very tough budgets. We face an $8-11 million budget shortfall, and if Gov. Scott Walker’s “budget repair bill” becomes implemented, the City of Madison will be unable to control our taxes to maintain the services we currently provide. Please don’t believe my opponent when he says he wants to increase building inspectors or police on foot patrol. We have no budget for that, and it’s an empty promise to you. If re-elected, I’ll be working hard to make sure that we don’t cut our building inspectors or police officers, gut the parks budget or lose access to bus routes, like the 81 Saferide bus from campus that serves much of District 2. It has appeared in committees as a possible cost-savings option.
I’ve been endorsed by the Democratic Party of Dane County and the UW-Madison College Democrats. The Madison Professional Police Officers Association believes that I’m the candidate most qualified on issues of safety. State Senators Fred Risser and Mark Miller, two of Wisconsin’s “Fab 14” who have become famous for sticking up for their constituents in a contentious time of uncertainty, have also endorsed me. They, more than anyone, know what the City of Madison is heading into. Local student elected-officials Bryon Eagon and Analiese Eicher believe I’m the best candidate, and I was endorsed by the Wisconsin State Journal.
With another term I hope to work on several issues of note to students that include bringing a summer concert series to James Madison Park, further tackling landlord tenant issues, including a registry of landlord emergency contacts and improving our ordinances on bed bug mitigation and advocating for downtown nightlife when considering the sunset of the Alcohol License Density Ordinance.
The city council decides many issues that affect students’ lives, and on issues of housing, safety and tenants rights I have been successful for District 2 and the campus community. I absolutely have the experience to fight for issues that matter to you. I am not interested in advancing ideology and partisan platforms, I’m here to get results and make your neighborhood a better place. Please visit BridgetforMadison.com to contact me with your ideas for the future of our campus neighborhoods, and together on April 5 we can make our capital great.
Bridget Maniaci ([email protected]) is running for reelection as District 2 alder.