The Mayoral race got cooking in August, heating up with Paul Soglin’s entry into the race. However, two-time candidate Wayne Bigelow announced Friday he is getting out of the kitchen, reducing the field from eight to seven.

Mayoral Candidate Wayne Bigelow withdrew his bid to become the next mayor of Madison, saying the field is simply “too crowded.”

Bigelow, former president of the Madison Common Council and a Dane County supervisor from 2000-2002, will support Soglin in next spring’s election.

“I want to thank the hundreds of people who offered their support and help for my campaign for mayor,” Bigelow said, according to The Capital Times. “The level of support was gratifying, and I hope that my friends will show the same enthusiasm and support for Paul Soglin that they did for me.”

In 1973, a year after earning a law degree from the University of Wisconsin, Soglin became Madison’s youngest-ever mayor at 28, a position he retained from 1973 to 1979 and then again from 1989 to 1997 for a total of 14 years.

State. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, announced Bigelow’s candidacy for mayor at the Outreach awards banquet at Monona Terrace in July.

Bigelow ran for mayor in 1997, losing to incumbent Mayor Sue Bauman by a mere 55 votes in a special election held to fill a void in the mayor’s office in the wake of Soglin’s sudden departure.

Bauman won re-election in 1999.

Bigelow echoed the sentiments of candidates Soglin, Madison school board vice-president Ray Allen, and Dave Ciezlewicz, in questioning Bauman’s leadership ability.

“For six years there’s been no vision, no leadership and poor management coming out of the mayor’s office,” Bigelow said in The Capital Times article. “Clueless might be the best way to describe Sue Bauman’s tenure.”

Bigelow has said he will continue to be active in local government and politics. “I’ve been active in local politics for a quarter century,” he said. “I’m not about to quit now.”

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he was not surprised to learn of Bigelow’s early exit in the race.

“Wayne Bigelow and Paul Soglin tend be supported by similar crowds,” Verveer said. “When Soglin entered the race, not only did the race become too crowded for yet another liberal candidate, but it also resulted in lots of people lining up to support Soglin.”

Bigelow’s withdrawal has done little to alleviate the mayoral race of overcrowding. Besides Bauman, Soglin and Allen, other remaining candidates include environmental activist Dave Ciezlewicz, former city Affirmative Action Directory Eugene Parks, Equal Opportunities Commission member Bert Zipperer, and activist and musician Jim Schwall.

The filing deadline for the Spring 2003 election is Jan. 2.