Mayoral candidate Paul Soglin said this is the most stressful campaign for mayor he has ever run. He said that throughout his two stints as mayor he never received so many questionnaires from special-interest groups.

“The demands are greater than past elections because of the increased communication over the Internet, and groups have more access to the candidates, in turn,” Soglin said.

He said despite the high demands, the chance to tackle the economic and social problems in Madison’s future have motivated him during the campaign.

“The bigger the challenges, the more I want the job,” Soglin said.

Soglin said he considered endorsing his opponent, Dave Cieslewicz, but instead decided to enter the race himself.

“The depth and experience was not there, so there was only one solution,” Soglin said. He said the two candidates’ budget plans are one of the most important policy differences between them. Soglin proposed drawing from the $24 million rainy-day fund and other revenue sources to patch up the state government’s cuts. Cieslewicz said his staff would take a pay cut and freeze hiring for selected positions, a plan Soglin called “smoke and mirrors.”

Soglin has other plans to pursue new apartment-style student housing on university property to decrease the demand for housing and drop rent prices. He said he would also work to enforce building-code inspections of student properties neglected by landlords.

When Soglin was a student at the University of Wisconsin, he said he spent time at Gino’s, State Street Brats and The Pub, noting that the Wisconsin drinking age was 18 at the time. Soglin admitted he is not sure how to confront student-drinking issues today, but he suggested curbing drink specials so they ended between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. He said such a regulation might reduce the “bulge” of drunken bar-hoppers clogging State Street at 2 a.m.

Soglin said he also wants to revamp the Alcohol License Review Committee to encourage more long-range planning and confront the cultural campus attitude toward alcohol. He questioned the position of City Council member Tim Bruer, District 14, as the ALRC’s chair, because the committee is comprised primarily of Madison residents.

In other student issues, Soglin would support additional parking ramps downtown to ease the street parking shortage, as well as add bicycle racks downtown. He also wants to pursue cleaner gas-burning options to quiet bus engines and to enhance the bus system rather than turn to commuter rail.

Soglin was first elected mayor in 1973 at age 28. He left the office in 1979 to practice law and take a teaching fellowship at Harvard University. Soglin was elected mayor again 10 years later and remained in office until 1997, when he left to run an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Representative.

In response to critics of his departure midway through the term, Soglin said his eight successive years in office were too long for a single candidate, and he worried at the time that his identity as solely mayor would hurt his chances for Congress.

“I have apologized for leaving, and it would not happen again,” Soglin said. “Given the problems we’re facing, having stability in the mayor’s office becomes even more important.”