As the April 5 election date draws nearer, candidates running for mayor and Dane County executive seats have spent weeks building their key stances to serve as the foundations for their campaigns – all promising greater change to the community if elected.

To allow voters another look at the possible combinations they could see in local government following elections, candidates for both offices squared off in a joint debate March 10 to present their platforms on economic development and the recently passed budget repair bill.

DANE COUNTY EXECUTIVE RACE

Vying for the executive seat – a position with no incumbent seeking the seat for the first time in 14 years – State Rep. Joe Parisi, D-Madison, and Sup. Eileen Bruskewitz, District 25, debated the changing landscape they said Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget would create for county government.

“We’re facing a lot of challenges and not just what’s going on in the Capitol,” Parisi said. “As you know, our public sector has been diminishing in numbers and mind power in the last few years.”

A University of Wisconsin graduate and fervent environmental advocate, Parisi said he has based his campaign around job creation and better communication with local businesses.

Parisi addressed the county executive’s role, arguing it must evolve to accommodate an office of economic development within county government. He said the office would address the challenges of bringing new business to Dane County.

“[The office] would help folks cut through the red tape and work with the business community and be there as a resource,” Parisi said. “Manufacturing can be a challenge for any kick-start shop, so the position would help them find locations and get from the initial stage to manufacturing.”

Bruskewitz, a conservative candidate with 11 years of experience as a County Board supervisor, opposed the suggestion that the county hire employees for an economic development office. She said two or three government employees would not be prepared to tackle such a workload.

She also said there is no need for an office of economic development because business “must be in politics.” Bruskewitz said the county portion of business in the past two years has borrowed, spent and taxed too much.

“Economic development is not going to happen because of government,” Bruskewitz said. “It’s going to take the private sector to find a place that they can do business and feel comfortable.”

MADISON MAYORAL RACE

On the same line of the development process, mayoral candidate Paul Soglin – who served as Madison’s mayor in the 1970s and 1990s – said dealing with difficult problems and finding solutions for the community was his favorite part about being mayor.

He said the Madison community possesses a “good deal of wealth,” but Madisonians need to take a closer look at the Madison Metropolitan School District, where almost 49 percent of students live below the poverty line.

“The mayor has to aggressively partner with other units of government in the county and private sector in working on that challenge of creating jobs,” Soglin said.

Soglin said the North Side area of Madison has attractive resources, such as its complete transportation system, a resource the city and county should both work to develop.

Soglin also placed a strong focus on high debt service, government partnerships and attracting new businesses to Madison.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz – who is fighting for a third consecutive term in office – said his current term is an example of the city doing a strong job of investing in police and fire departments as well as paramedic vehicles, new neighborhood centers and libraries.

“Our unemployment, although high for Madison, is 4.4 percent – that rivals any community in America,” Cieslewicz said. “Madison is holding its property values, a testament to the strength of business communities and neighborhoods.”

Soglin also drew attention to the process through which the city approves building projects – an issue Cieslewicz has brought before city commissions and is expected to bring before the City Council next week. Soglin said Madison has been diverging from the rest of the county in its development methods for the past five years.