In light of this week’s city and county government internal-leadership elections and amidst partisan and often personal conflicts within the City Council and County Board, The Badger Herald is examining the workings of these groups. The specific-level power in the hands of a few leaders is examined today, but later this week the telescope’s lens will be widened, and the roots of current Council and board agenda items and relations will be examined.

Just weeks after voters elected members of the Dane County Board and Madison City Council to power, the two groups are set to hold their own elections, which have the potential to change the face of local leadership.

Both governing bodies will elect their respective leaders Tuesday, with Alds. Mike Verveer, District 4, and Matt Sloan, District 13, vying for council president and a handful of County Board members lobbying for the chair position.

The bipartisan split on the County Board, which Supv. Scott McDonnell, District 4, said was strengthened by April’s elections, makes Tuesday’s election attractive to factions looking to push opposing agendas.

The County Board chair is charged with setting meeting agendas and appointing committees and member replacements when committee members resign. The position could prove even more influential in November — if Dane County Exec. Kathleen Falk is elected governor, the board chair would be responsible for appointing her replacement.

Although the board is officially nonpartisan, roughly 18 conservatives, 15 liberals and four moderates compose the 37-member board, according to Supv. Echnaton Vedder, District 5.

According to McDonnell, with a few exceptions, conservative supervisors tend to represent districts in more rural areas while liberal supervisors usually come from districts in and around urban Madison.

“The closer you get to the Capitol and the city, the more liberal they are,” he said. “I represent a district of mostly all apartments, but there are some who represent districts of all farms.”

McDonnell said the most important aspect of the chair’s power is the ability to appoint committee members.

Several board members are interested in the position, including the current first vice chair, conservative Supv. Ruth Ann Schoer, District 9.

“You can make a difference on the County Board floor,” Schoer told the Wisconsin State Journal. “You set the decorum of the meting and can be more proactive on issues. It would be a wonderful challenge.”

Current board chairman and moderate Supv. Kevin Kestersen, District 34, is interested in maintaining his position, which McDonnell and Vedder both predict will be the likely outcome of Tuesday’s secret vote.

City Council leadership is also in limbo. Members are set to vote for the group’s president and president pro tem at their Tuesday meeting.

Current City Council president Gary Poulson said the president is elected every spring and typically serves only one term.

Poulson said the Council president has the ability to direct policy on an influential level. The position has the authority to preside over council meetings, act as mayor in her absence from meetings, serve on the Board of Estimates, decide who will serve on the ethics board, guide the Council organization committee, review council meeting agendas before they are finalized and create subcommittees.

The position also receives additional compensation and has the ability to influence the council’s organizational committee.

Poulson said one of the most important powers of the president is the ability to shuffle agenda items.

“They can shape, with the consent of the group, when things come up in the meeting,” he said.

And with the power to call outside retreats and meetings, the president can focus attention on certain issues.

“If someone is particularly interested in something like affordable housing, they could hold a retreat or meeting to discuss affordable housing,” Poulson said. However, he noted attendance at such meetings is not mandatory, so the council president’s influence is somewhat limited.

Verveer said he thinks the council would likely elect Ald. Linda Bellman, District 1, as Council president pro tem.

The County Board meets Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in room 201 of the City County Building. The City Council meets Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in room 260 of the Madison Municipal Meeting.