The mayor’s office has announced that the mayor will begin filming a monthly TV program to update Madison residents on current city issues and increase communication between the mayor and his constituents.
The half hour program will be aired on Madison City Channel and hosted by Mayor Paul Soglin and Madison Parks Department Representative Laura Whitmore. According to the mayor’s office, guests on the program will range from elected officials to volunteers to city staff.
Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, will guest-host the first episode, which will discuss the city’s Downtown Plan, along with Community and Economic Development director, Steve Cover.
Resnick said he was excited to be a part of “The Mayor’s Report.” He said the first episode will discuss the effects the Downtown Plan, specifically zoning laws, would have on every street west of Lake Street.
Changes such as a new path along Langdon Street and the possibility of a new downtown park would also be discussed in the first episode, Resnick said.
Resnick said University of Wisconsin events, including the Mifflin Street Block Party, would be affected by the Downtown Plan. He added that the entire future of Mifflin Street will be up for review.
Boyce Johnson, an engineer at Madison’s City Channel since 1989, said “The Mayor’s Report” was eliminated by former mayor Dave Cieslewicz in his last budget meeting before he left office.
Johnson said Cieslewicz eliminated “The Mayor’s Report” as an effort to stem the growing budget deficit within the city of Madison. Soglin seeks to revive the show in order to reopen a new window of communication with the citizens of Madison.
The show started in 1984, is now being revived by Soglin in an effort to return to the old ways, said Johnson.
“I’m pleased to be reviving The Mayor’s Report,” Soglin said in a statement from the Mayor’s Office. “I appreciate the opportunity to utilize another communication vehicle to discuss some of the complicated issues facing the city.”
When “The Mayor’s Report” premieres at 4 p.m. this Thursday, Madison residents will have a new way to get in touch with their mayor. “The Mayor’s Report” will be rerun every Friday and Sunday at 8 p.m. on the City Channel.