University of Wisconsin senior Bryon Eagon, who has served as the campus-area representative on Madison’s City Council for a single two-year term, announced today he will not run for re-election come spring.
In a statement, Eagon, who represents Madison’s District 8 on the council, said he decided against running for a second term on the council so he could move to New York City to participate in the Teach for America program.
Eagon said he hopes his successor on the council focuses on issues important in the downtown and campus area.
“These last few years have shown a dramatic increase in student involvement at the city level, a trend that is very encouraging for the city of Madison,” Eagon said in the statement. “It is my plan to support a candidate who will use this position to shape local policy and achieve tangible results, not fight ideological battles or fulfill personal ambitions.”
With Eagon’s departure, the race for the District 8 seat is now wide open. So far only one candidate, Student Progressive Dane member and former Badger Herald writer Kyle Szarzynski, has announced he will run to replace Eagon in the council. State-Langdon neighborhood President Scott Resnick, often mentioned as a possible candidate for the seat, previously told The Badger Herald he was awaiting Eagon’s decision to decide if he would run for the seat.
Resnick said Monday he plans to consider running over the long weekend and likely will have a decision by early next week.
District 8 encompasses a large part of the UW campus, including part of the Southeast residential neighborhood, all of Lakeshore, a large portion of Langdon Street and further south into the College Court area.
Ald. Mike Verveer, who has represented downtown’s District 4 since the mid-1990s, said District 8 historically has had a high turnover rate compared to other council seats because of the mostly “transient” nature of the district.
“It changes hands pretty regularly,” Verveer said. “During my tenure [as alder], the longest a District 8 alder has served is two terms.”
Verveer has worked with several student council representatives throughout his years as an alder, and he said Eagon was generally considered a friendly and personable person to work with around City Hall.
“I can’t imagine that he made any enemies or was disliked by anyone on council or, for that matter, in City Hall,” Verveer said.
Eagon’s decision opens up another race students and downtown political observers will likely add to their watch lists; earlier this year Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced she would step down, setting up a countywide race for her replacement, while several candidates have announced their run for Madison Mayor.
Another downtown representative on the council, District 2 Ald. Bridget Maniaci, faces a challenge from former Badger Herald columnist Sam Stevenson to win her second term on the council after a busy two years which included the Edgewater Hotel redevelopment.
