In an act that could add another layer of controversy to a city debate spanning nearly two and a half years, a Madison School Board member recently wrote a letter linking a prominent development project to the election campaign of the governor.
In the letter, board member Lucy Mathiak uses campaign finance information from a nonpartisan group’s website to show the money trail between the Edgewater project’s developer, Hammes Co., and Republican campaigns, including support for Gov. Scott Walker.
The letter was addressed to City Council members and Mayor Paul Soglin, who will need to make a final decision on funding the development, following Soglin’s announcement that he would slash Tax Incremental Financing for the project as part of the city’s capital budget.
Mathiak expressed support for the budgetary provision, citing concern over the possible impact on public school revenue in the district, urging alders to approve the mayor’s budget as it stands.
She added she takes personal issue with funding a project in which the lead developer has previously donated thousands of dollars to Republican politicians that supported Walker’s collective bargaining measure last spring. The legislation drew extreme criticism from the Madison community and from members of the City Council.
“I have real issues with channeling more profit to people who will turn around and use their personal resources to bring us the chaos and destruction, from economic hardship to assaults on basic political and collective bargaining rights, that we have seen in the past [nine] months,” she said in the letter.
She added that it is difficult to contemplate siphoning property tax revenue to “further aggrandize” individuals that have caused damage to the state of Wisconsin and the greater community.
While Mathiak has opposed the city’s review of the Edgewater TIF district nearly since the beginning, advocates of the project, including Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, viewed the letter as a last-ditch effort to stir opposition before the matter is considered in council.
Maniaci said the investments of several individuals involved in a large company should have no bearing on whether the city continues to fund the Edgewater project and that Mathiak has been “unprofessional” in debating the issue since early in the process.
“I don’t think you should have to check your political affiliation at the door if you’re working to make Madison a better place,” she said.
Hammes Co. also previously donated funds to the political campaigns of former Gov. Jim Doyle and former gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett, Maniaci said, and it would be “absurd” to ask for a developer’s political leanings at the door on a project.
While Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he agrees with the Madison School Board support for the mayor’s intention to slash funding for Edgewater, he does not believe the letter’s rhetoric will carry much weight with council members when the matter comes down to a final vote.
“With the multiple arguments against city TIF money going to the Edgewater, I agree with the mayor’s decision,” he said. “But I think [Mathiak’s letter] falls by the wayside when it comes down to good arguments.”
Mathiak did not immediately return calls for comment.
