With a change in power comes a change in policy. Madison residents have elected Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, and now it is possible that programs and policies started by the previous administration may be changed.
Former Mayor Sue Bauman said she would like to see all of her programs continued.
“There should be change; we shouldn’t stagnate,” Bauman said. “I hope the new mayor will build on what we’ve done and not make any drastic changes without having a basis for doing so.”
Bauman said the initiatives she would most like to see continued are the improvement of race relations, the increase of affordable housing and the rebuilding downtown, as well as the increase of Internet use and “e-government.”
According to Bauman, Madison, as well as any other city, is faced with race issues. She said a task force on race relations discussed in 1998 what could be done to improve Madison.
“I would like to see the city as a whole look to see what they could do to improve race relations in the community,” Bauman said.
The task force made 36 recommendations, like the installation of video cameras in police cars so all stops could be taped for record, Bauman said. She said Madison received some federal money, and the video cameras should be installed sometime soon. Bauman would also like to see all police officers carry business cards, so when a citizen has questions, complaints or comments about the officer they dealt with they have tangible proof of who the officer was.
Bauman said she hopes the task forces will not stall in her absence.
“I would like to see continued discussion and implementation instead of just ‘OK, we did it’ and move on,” Bauman said.
She said she allowed the city to be more accessible to the people by making the Internet a main source of communication between the public and the government. Madison citizens can now pay water bills or parking tickets online, and Bauman said she would like to see more services added to the city’s Internet capabilities.
Before Bauman left office, she said her administration began meeting regularly with members of different communities to understand the character of each neighborhood and what chances would make each community better. She said she would like to see these meetings continued and would like more progress to be made.
In the sessions with representatives from the community, Bauman said she heard traffic was a main concern. This concern lead to the formation of a traffic unit that enforces speeding and red light running laws. Bauman said citizens seem happy with the officers.
“It only operates two shifts a day, I would like to see it run 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Bauman said.
One of the things Bauman said she feels strongly about is accessibility to the mayor the ability to talk to the mayor directly.
“It is important to bring city government close to the people,” Bauman said. “Essentially, I would like to see things expanded.”
Bauman said she believes her administration and administrations before her got the city going in a positive direction.
“The city is in good condition physically and fiscally. I hope the new mayor will build on what we’ve done,” Bauman said.
