Bar raiding, student safety and tenant rights were some of the major issues deliberated as four University of Wisconsin students debated for Eli Judge’s District 8 alder seat in the Humanities Building Sunday night.
Mark Woulf, UW junior, began the debate saying he encourages bars to open their doors to the 18-, 19- and 20-year-old crowd to decrease the number of bar raids and put more police officers on the street.
“Stopping underage drinking isn’t going to happen,” Woulf said. “We need to focus on safety.”
Additionally, Woulf said drinking puts people at an escalated risk of danger. He said Madison residents should be assured their homes are safe, adding the most dangerous areas on campus are between houses and parking lots.
Candidate Katrina Flores, UW graduate student, agreed bars should be open to an underage crowd. She argued providing entertainment in bars keeps more students off the streets. Flores added she thinks house parties are more dangerous than bar-hopping.
UW junior Bryon Eagon mentioned he wants to repeal the Alcohol License Density Plan, which puts a cap on the number of full liquor licenses in downtown Madison.
Eagon said giving venues liquor licenses on a “case-by-case basis is more responsible” than allowing the ALDP to automatically regulate distribution of liquor licenses.
Candidate Jacob Schmidt, a UW junior, agreed the distribution of liquor licenses should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
“You’re always going to have the good and the bad, and the bad is always going to ruin it for the good,” Schmidt said. “We need to start standing up and organizing.”
Woulf said the issue with the ALDP is it takes business away from the downtown, adding the community must do everything to promote economic growth.
The candidates also discussed the rights tenants are entitled to when signing a lease.
Schmidt said landlord/tenant relationships often suffer because tenants do not know the rights to which they are entitled. He added UW should have representatives talk with freshmen before they sign their apartment leases to inform them of their rights.
Eagon said one way to inform students of their rights is to outline them in contracts.
He added he would support Judge’s plan to set up a rating system of apartments.
Regarding her availability as an alder, Flores said if elected she will have a blog and host monthly “State of District 8” where she will discuss district issues with her constituents.
Eagon said he will make house calls to solve resident problems and also be available via blog and e-mail.
Additionally, Schmidt said he would appoint times where he would be available and will hopefully create a blog. Woulf said he would also host alder hours much like Judge has done during his tenure.
The primary is set for Feb. 17, which will whittle the field down to two candidates before the April 7 election.
