After the last-minute exit of two mayoral candidates and the subsequent entrance of two others, the resulting panel of potential mayors ranges in age from 27 to 68 and covers a wide spectrum of political ideologies.
The newcomers are Davy Mayer, a University of Wisconsin graduate student, and Will Sandstrom, a retired biochemist. They filled the void left by dropouts Eugene Parks and Jim Schwall to join incumbent mayor Sue Bauman and candidates Dave Cieslewicz, Paul Soglin and Bert Zipperer in the mayoral race.
The six remaining candidates met Jan. 8 during debates for the Madison Rotary Club and the Dane County Democratic Party, entertaining and even offending the viewers at both events.
In response to a question about affordable housing, all of the candidates, except Mayer and Sandstrom, mentioned inclusionary zoning, which would require new developments to include low-income housing in their projects.
Sandstrom, however, created an angry stir among the candidates and the Democratic audience when he answered that low-income people would deteriorate Madison. In response to the audience’s boos, Sandstrom said he had taught school in Chicago’s “black ghetto” and guaranteed violence would erupt if more low-income residents came to Madison.
Other less-heated disagreements emerged during the debates, including criticism by Cieslewicz and Soglin of Bauman’s decision to reject an Epic Systems base in Madison. All of the candidates except Sandstrom expressed a need to keep businesses in Madison to help cultivate the local economy.
Bauman said the large Epic development did not fit Madison’s landscape and defended her leadership record.
“My style is not flashy, and I don’t tell everyone everything I’ve accomplished,” Bauman said. “But I’ve gotten a lot done.”
The candidates also disagreed on the ideal direction for the future of city transportation. Bauman said she wanted to thaw Madison’s love affair with cars and instead integrate trains into the bus system, while Soglin said new light-rail trains would aggravate suburban sprawl. Cieslewicz said he wanted electric streetcars to be incorporated into the city and then spread outward, but Zipperer said trains are years from becoming a reality and that the city government should instead focus on today’s bus system.
Sandstrom said new transit would be foolish because of the budget crisis, and Mayer also said trains would be too expensive, suggesting zeppelins be implemented instead.
Those attending the debates had diverse assessments of which candidates emerged the strongest.
Rotary Club attendant Charlotte Bell said Cieslewicz and Zipperer impressed her but that Bauman and Soglin were outstanding.
“The others were a joke, but it’s always fun to have those, too,” she said. “It will be hard to predict the race’s outcome.”
In contrast, Democratic Party members Helen and Irwin Klibaner said Bauman didn’t seem to have any vision for Madison’s future, and she appreciated the specific goals of Cieslewicz and Soglin.
“There’s someone for the students, which is good, and there’s someone for the bigots,” Irwin Klibaner said.
Tom Benish, a Madison resident at the Democratic Party forum, said the hour-long debate motivated him to investigate each of the candidates further.
“I am eager to find out their stance on more issues,” Benish said.
The candidates discussed other current issues, including Madison’s economy, cooperation with the State Legislature and county government and the annexation of Fitchburg and the Town of Madison.
Broadcasts of the Rotary Club debate will be replayed Jan. 17 at 8 p.m., Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. on Channel 12.
